The English Team v South Africa – Women’s World Cup Begins
Silence please! All discussions have ended, for now at least, while England’s World Cup is ready to commence. On the downside, they start with a tough game with South Africa as their first rival. Fortunately, they kick off with a demanding fixture against South Africa. A win in this match could provide immediate impetus for England and legitimise the measured self-belief from their pre-competition talk.
Pre-Competition Confidence
An excellent win against the Australians in their last warm-up has boosted that self-assurance, even if the individual performances from Alice Capsey (remaining unbeaten on 88) alongside Sarah Glenn (claiming 5/32) presented Charlotte Edwards with a minor dilemma.
Edwards is a serial winner, thus there is no risk that England will aim low. But from a distance they are in the slightly unusual position where their tournament benchmark is quite obvious.
Tournament Expectations
Falling short of the semis might come as a small upset, even allowing for the progress made by usual lower-ranked teams. Reaching the final ahead of either Australia or India, the primary frontrunners to claim the title, would be a serious achievement. Should England emerge victorious… it's best not to entertain that thought. It’s far too soon for those kinds of predictions.
This fixture commences at 10:30 AM British Summer Time.
