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England: Tammy Beaumont, Maia Bouchier, Heather Knight (c), Nat Sciver-Brunt, Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Amy Jones (wk), Charlie Dean, Sophie Ecclestone, Ryana MacDonald-Gay, Lauren Filer, Lauren Bell
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Maia Bouchier is England’s other debutant in this format, partnering Tammy Beaumont up top.
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Heather Knight makes the correct call. She confirms the absence of Kate Cross, who sustained a back spasm in the third ODI. That means a Test debut for the 20-year-old Ryana MacDonald-Gay.
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Hello, hello, hello and welcome to a little slice of history. South Africa’s women are set to play their first Test match at home since … March 2002. It’s been a while.
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The wait ends in Bloemfontein, with Heather Knight’s side the visitors, aiming to complete an all-format sweep on this tour. England won the T20s 3-0, the ODIs 2-1, and a red-ball win would round things off rather nicely before they set off for the Ashes.
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Women’s Tests remain a once-in-a-while event, the main battleground still the white-ball stuff, with no domestic long-form scene to prep these two sides for the contest. A win for either team would end lengthy droughts. England haven’t won a red-ball game since January 2014, with nine matches since resulting in four losses and five draws. South Africa have won just one match in their history, against the Netherlands in 2007.
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Drop me a line with all your thoughts, queries, Sunday plans, whatever you want. And here’s a banger to enjoy … from the charts in March 2002.
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main events
team
South Africa: Laura Wolvaardt (c), Anneke Bosch, Annelie Derksen, Sune Roos, Marisanne Kapp, Nadine de Klerk, Chloe Tryon, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Tumi Sekhuhune, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Ayanda Hlubi
England: Tammy Beaumont, Maia Bouchier, Heather Knight (c), Nat Cyber-Blunt, Danny Wyatt-Hodge, Amy Jones (wk), Charlie Dean, Sophie Ecclestone, Lianna McDonald-Gay, Lauren filer, lauren bell
Maia Bouchier is another debutant for England in this format, partnering Tammy Beaumont at the top.
England win the toss and choose to bat first
Heather Knight makes the right decision. She confirmed the absence of Kate Cross, who suffered a back spasm in the third ODI. It will mark a Test debut for 20-year-old Liana McDonald-Gay.
preamble
Hello, hello, hello and welcome to a little piece of history. South Africa's women's team will play a Test match at home for the first time since March 2002.
The wait ends in Bloemfontein, where Heather Knight's team will be the visitors and aim to dominate all formats on this tour. England won the T20s 3-0 and the ODIs 2-1 and will finish the match in pretty good shape before heading off to the Ashes with a red-ball win.
The women's Test remains an occasional event, the main battleground remains the white-ball match, and there is no domestic featurette to prepare the two for the contest. A win for either team would end the long drought. England have not won a red-ball match since January 2014 and have lost four and drawn five of their nine matches since then. South Africa have only won one match in their history, against the Netherlands in 2007.
Please feel free to contact us with any comments, questions, or plans for Sunday. And here's a fun banger…from the March 2002 charts.
