South Africa make four changes for England ODI series decider

December 11, 2024
8:06 pm

Toss England chose to bowl vs South Africa

South Africa responded to their six-wicket defeat to England by making four changes for Wednesday’s series decider in Potchefstroom. Tazmin Brits, Sune Luus, Sinalo Jafta and Ayanda Hlubi were all left out, and Lara Goodall, Anneke Bosch, Mieke de Ridder and Masabata Klaas came in to the side.

Their new-look top three will be challenged early after England won the toss and chose to bowl on a hot afternoon, opting to chase under floodlights later in the day. They made a surprising change, shuffling their fast-bowling pack and bringing back Lauren Bell in place of Lauren Filer, whose 3 for 32 in Durban on Sunday set up England’s convincing six-wicket win.

The change means that each of England’s three frontline seamers has played two out of three ODIs in the series, suggesting a level of workload management ahead of Sunday’s Test match in Bloemfontein.

Chloe Tryon, who top-scored for South Africa in the second ODI, said their batters will look to be “proactive” against England’s spinners. “It’s about being really positive,” she said. “Once you get into your shell against world-class players, they’re just going to get you out… If you lose wickets in clusters like that, it’s really hard to win cricket games.”

Maia Bouchier, who made 33 on her return from a neck niggle on Sunday, said, “We go in with a positive mindset… This is the big one. We want to win this game and win this series. The girls put in an exceptional performance [last time] so if we could replicate that, that would be amazing.”

South Africa: Laura Wolvaardt (capt), Lara Goodall, Anneke Bosch, Annerie Dercksen, Marizanne Kapp, Nadine de Klerk, Chloe Tryon, Mieke de Ridder (wk), Masabata Klaas, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Ayabonga Khaka

England: Tammy Beaumont, Maia Bouchier, Heather Knight (capt), Nat Sciver-Brunt, Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Amy Jones (wk), Alice Capsey, Charlie Dean, Sophie Ecclestone, Kate Cross, Lauren Bell