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Afternoon/evening/(very early) morning everyone. Welcome to the latest episode in what consensus has it is Australia’s procession to another World T20 title. South Africa stand in their way today, having put together some commanding wins in the group stage, bar their fairly convincing defeat by England. But Heather Knight’s increasingly brittle side messed up at the last and have gone home.
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All of which leaves the Proteas as probably the second strongest of the semi-finalists, with their leading talents – such as Laura Woolvaardt and Tamzin Brits with the bat, the effective left-arm spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba with the ball and the always dangerous all-rounder Marizanne Kapp – all in decent nick, they should pose Australia their biggest challenge of the tournament so far.
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For the holders have been formidable, twice bowling opponents out in under 20 overs and even in their narrowest win, over India, they never lost control. There’s match-winners everywhere you look down their line-up, even when key players are injured. One such, Alyssa Healy, was still doubtful overnight having picked up a foot injury against Pakistan but the Australia camp say they want to give her as much time as possible to declare herself fit to play in Dubai today. And the fact that Dubai, the best of the surfaces used in the tournament, is today’s venue gives us hope for some decent scoring rates in what has been a low-scoring competition.
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These sides met in the final of the last World T20, of course, where home advantage didn’t count for enough for South Africa, and Australia carved out a 19-run victory, because that’s what they do.
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We’ll be under way at 3pm BST/6pm local time/1am AET. Stick around.
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main events
South Africa wins the toss and bowl
Laura Wolvaert is eager to pursue, and when the coin lands on the right side, she doesn't hesitate to attack first. South Africa will field the same side. “Hopefully we can catch them off guard,” she says. Talia McGrath was happy to bat first and get to 160-170, allowing her to put pressure on the scoreboard. Australia's captain confirmed Healy's absence as the team will be playing with the same squad that played against India in the previous match.
at the beginning of the weekahead of West Indies' great performance against England, Raf Nicholson wrote an insightful summary of what he has learned from the tournament so far. Tuck in while you wait for the toss.
Is the UAE the spinner's paradise we've all been led to believe? Among the top 10 wicket-takers of the tournament so far, including Australia's Megan Schutt (8 wickets) and Annabel Sutherland (7 wickets) Five are seamers. When Australia and India were in a tight contest on Sunday, with India needing 14 runs from the final over, it was Sutherland that stand-in captain Talia McGrath turned to. The all-rounder exemplified composure and conceded just five runs (he took two wickets) as Australia defended well.
preamble
Afternoon/Evening/(Very Early) Morning Everyone. Welcome to the latest episode where the consensus is that Australia are heading towards another World T20 title. Standing in front of them today will be South Africa, who, aside from a pretty convincing defeat to England, have had some dominant wins in the group stages. But Heather Knight's increasingly vulnerable side messed up in the end and she's back.
Taking all this into account, the Proteas have top-class talent in Laura Woolvaardt and Tamzin Blitz with the bat, effective left-arm spinner Nonkululeko Mhlaba with the ball, and an always dangerous player. They will probably be the second strongest team among the semi-finalists. Marizanne Cup Rounders – All with decent nicknames, they should pose Australia’s biggest challenge of the tournament so far.
That's because the holder was formidable, bowling his opponents in under 20 overs twice and never losing control, even in the narrow victory over India. Even when key players are injured, if you look at the lineup, there are winners everywhere. One of them, Alyssa Healy, sustained a leg injury against Pakistan and was still doubtful all night, but the Australian camp wants to give her as much time as possible to declare herself fit to play in Dubai today. states. And the fact that Dubai, which has one of the best surfaces used in tournaments, is today's venue gives us hope that we can expect some scoring rate in a low-scoring tournament.
These teams met in the last World T20 final, where of course home advantage did not count for much for South Africa, with Australia carving out a 19-run victory. Because that's the way they do it.
Departs at 3pm BST/6pm local time/1am AET. Stick around there.
