Key events:
1st over: England 6-0 (Beaumont 1, Lamb 1) Beaumont is batting in short sleeves! This is the first time I’ve ever seen that, noting that I didn’t watch the First ODI as I was in the air back from Sri Lanka. Anyway, she gets England’s first run with a steer behind point. Oooh, and Lamb is inches away from not scoring at all, cut in half by an Ismail beauty – it does so much that the ‘keeper Chetty can’t reach it either, four byes. But she’s off the mark next ball with a dab to deep third of her own.
The players are on the field. Tammy Beaumont and Emma Lamb for England; Shabnim Ismail, back into the team for South Africa today, is taking the new ball. The players and staff take a knee before the first ball, to the applause of the crowd. PLAY!
Good on Leics for having a real crack here. Buy a ticket for Monday.
As records tumble on the field … can you help us make a new one at the Uptonsteel County Ground? Be part of the largest audience for a Womens ODI at Grace Road – get your ticket asap. We are on track for it! pic.twitter.com/6lnYdnOVeS
— Sean Jarvis (@SeanMJarvis) July 15, 2022
In other news before we begin… a lot of people, not unreasonably, are going to kick off over this. Time for a re-think as to where the Blast fits alongside internationals.
The teams as named
England: Tammy Beaumont, Emma Lamb, Sophia Dunkley, Heather Knight (c), Nat Sciver, Danni Wyatt, Amy Jones (wk), Sophie Ecclestone, Charlie Dean, Issy Wong, Lauren Bell.
South Africa: Laura Wolvaardt, Andrie Steyn, Lara Goodall, Sune Luus (c), Marizanne Kapp, Chloe Tryon, Nadine de Klerk, Trisha Chetty (wk), Shabnim Ismail, Ayabonga Khaka, Nonkululeko Mlaba.
Lauren Bell and Issy Wong are speaking with Sky. They found out yesterday, so both have brought family members to Bristol for the day. They are England ODI players 134 and 135 respectively. When they received their Test caps at Taunton, it was from the legendary combination Anya Shrubsole and Katherine Brunt – as Mel Jones points out, they have the chance to be the next long-standing opening pair. Wong is already an interesting figure in the women’s cricket world, her publicly-stated aim of becoming the first woman to 80mph dividing opinion. But ignoring the radar, goodness me, she can bowl – swing, skid, aggression. And Bell, a product of the domestic pathway, benefits from her height and accuracy. This should be fun.
England have won the toss
As expected, Heather Knight has elected to bat. It’s a very windy day at Bristol. “I think it will be a good surface and might spin towards the end of the game so we want to get runs on the board.” Katherine Brunt and Kate Cross the rest, which means Issy Wong and Lauren Bell are going to make their ODI debuts. Exciting.
Sune Luus says South Africa were going to bowl first, so she isn’t worried. And she’ll have the fastest bowler in the women’s game, Shabnil Ismail, back in her XI.
Preamble
Adam Collins
Good afternoon. Lovely to be back in the UK after a few weeks in Sri Lanka for the Australian Men’s Tests, straight onto the OBO for the first time this summer. And what better time than for the two of the teams I enjoy covering most: England’s women up against South Africa at Bristol – the second ODI of a three-match series.
Heather Knight’s reconfigured and refreshed team saluted with ease in the opener at Taunton earlier in the week, hunting down the 219 they required for victory in just 32.1 overs. What an evening it was for Emma Lamb in particular, reeling off her first international ton, finishing with 102 from 97 balls at the top of the list.
With the ball, Katherine Brunt, in her first international of the season, returned the stellar figures of 3/18 from nine overs, bursting through the top order in the usual manner for the veteran. Down the other end, all-rounder Nat Sciver continued her stunning 2022: four wickets then another brisk half century in the chase. Class.
England have a great record at Bristol in the 50-over format, last year hammering India early in the summer then also getting the job done against New Zealand. I suspect they’ll be keen to bat first, which would present a fantastic opportunity for Sophia Dunkley, who has been elevated from six to three in the England list.
For the Proteas, the big-hitting Chloe Tryon saved their blushes after a limp 30 overs off the top, smacking 88 from 73. Nadine de Klerk, who impressed at the T20 World Cup immediately before the pandemic, took a couple of wickets with her lively swing after combining with Tryon for a stand of 97, contributing 38 of those.
Sune Luus’ side need to win to stay in the series. To do so, runs from the captain and opener Laura Wolvaardt are surely a must – their senior players. That’s all the more important in the absence the absence of Lizelle Lee, who retired before the series, and their full time skipper, Dane van Niekerk, who missed the tour with an injury.
Right, I’ll be back with the toss and teams shortly with play set to begin at 2pm BST. Stay in touch throughout by dropping me a line or pinging through a tweet.