Lincoln (Cricinfo): South Africa will head into the World Cup on the back of two losses in their warm-up games. After going down to India, they were handed a comprehensive six-wicket defeat to England in Lincoln on Wednesday.
Heather Knight opted to bowl in a clash reduced to 35-overs-a-side, and South Africa let themselves down with the bat, slumping to 138 for 9 as Anya Shrubsole and Sophie Ecclestone picked five for 41 between them. In reply, England lost four wickets, but knocked off the runs in just 26.3 overs.
Laura Wolvaardt, fresh off a 95-ball 83 against India, fell for a duck. Tazmin Brits, her opening partner, struggled to get going, making a 44-ball 13 as a follow-up to her duck against India.
Shrubsole, Ecclestone, Katherine Brunt and Kate Cross were all among the wickets as the South African failed to get momentum at any stage. It was only a 65-run stand for the sixth wicket, between Marizanne Kapp and Chloe Tryon, that gave South Africa some respectability.
The two got together at the fall of Brits’ wicket, and while they didn’t set the game alight, they chipped away. Tryon fell for 27, but Kapp carried on till she became the ninth batter out, for a 60-ball 52, with five fours. Stopping England short was always going to be a tall ask for South Africa, but Ayabonga Khaka gave them a great start with the ball, taking out Lauren Winfield-Hill and Heather Knight cheaply. But a 33-run stand between Tammy Beaumont, who scored 35, and Nat Sciver, who scored 33 before retiring hurt, put England in the box seat.
By the time they were done, the target was just a few hits away, and Amy Jones, Danni Wyatt and Sophia Dunkley finished off the job.
In an even contest, Pakistan edged Bangladesh with a seven-run (DLS) win in Lincoln, Fargana Hoque’s 95-ball 71 ending up being second-best to Fatima Sana’s 4 for 47 on the day. After keeping Pakistan to 199 for 7 in 42 overs, Bangladesh had a revised target of 202, and gave it a good tilt, mainly courtesy Hoque. Sana did the initial damage, reducing Bangladesh to 29 for 2, but Hoque and captain Nigar Sultana fought back with a 42-run stand.
That, and the 49 runs Hoque and an enterprisingRumana Ahmed added for the fourth wicket, gave Bangladesh a good shot at overhauling the target, but there wasn’t much support for Hoque as Sana came back to pick up two more wickets, including that of Hoque, and Bangladesh were bowled out seven runs short with four balls remaining in the chase.
