Women's World Cup 2025: Laura Wolvaardt and Marizanne Kapp star as South Africa beat England to reach final

Dismal England were knocked out of the Women's World Cup after a thumping 125-run defeat by South Africa in the semi-final.

Laura Wolvaardt played one of the great one-day innings with 169 from 143 balls at the top of the order as the Proteas, who lost to England in the previous two World Cup semis, posted an imposing 319-7 in Guwahati.

Faced with a record chase in a knockout game, England suffered a horror start as they slumped to 1-3 with Amy Jones, Tammy Beaumont and Heather Knight all falling for ducks.

Jones and Knight were both bowled by a fired-up Marizanne Kapp and Beaumont was caught behind off Ayabonga Khaka, but Nat Sciver-Brunt and Alice Capsey steadied the innings with a composed stand of 105.

The pressure of the chase mounted and Capsey fell shortly after reaching her first ODI fifty before Kapp delivered again, all-but confirming South Africa's win with the wicket of England's captain for 64.

The star all-rounder then added Sophia Dunkley and Charlie Dean to her tally to finish with a sensational 5-20 as England finished 194 all out.

England batted poorly but they did little wrong in the field; they were at the mercy of Wolvaardt's majestic and chanceless innings.

She timed her knock and South Africa's total to perfection. After 40 overs, they were 202-5 with Wolvaardt on 101, before an astonishing acceleration saw 117 runs pummelled from the last 10.

Sophie Ecclestone was the pick of England's bowlers with 4-44 despite her shoulder injury - she took two wickets in one over when South Africa slipped from 116-0 to 119-3.

But England struggled to keep hold of the momentum as Kapp scored a counter-attacking 42, and despite another three quick wickets falling, Wolvaardt started her onslaught with crucial support from Chloe Tryon's 33 not out.

South Africa will face either India or Australia in their first World Cup final on Sunday, with those two teams playing in Navi Mumbai on Thursday.

In the group-stage fixture between these teams, South Africa were skittled for just 69 as England's spinners ripped through them, and it immediately looked like their World Cup campaign was on the ropes.

The resilience shown from their turnaround was incredible, including a surprising win against India, and culminated in this comprehensive performance kickstarted by their inspirational captain.

When the first ball of the match pinged out of the middle of Wolvaardt's bat off to the cover boundary, it felt ominous and the unassuming but steely look of determination never left her face.

It was a masterclass in 50-over batting. She dominated the powerplay as England inexplicably fed her glorious cover drive with too much width, but had to contain herself and settle in after Ecclestone removed Tazmin Brits and Anneke Bosch, and Sciver-Brunt bowled Sune Luus for one.

Kapp's proactive knock from 33 balls took the pressure off before she holed out off Ecclestone, again forcing Wolvaardt to reset, before she completely took England apart at the death.

Ecclestone completed the 42nd over and that was Wolvaardt's cue to unleash, clubbing 68 from her next 27 balls including eight fours and four sixes.

She manipulated the field and the bowlers at will, giving herself room to go over mid-wicket, only to hit a near-identical ball over cover from the next. England simply had no answers.

Ecclestone and Lauren Bell, who took 2-55, held their own but Sciver-Brunt was taken for 67 from eight overs while spinners Linsey Smith and Charlie Dean were targeted for 0-69 and 0-67 respectively.

Tryon's cameo ensured South Africa did not lose momentum after Wolvaardt's dismissal in the 48th over, before the responsibility shifted from one experienced superstar to another to get them to their country's first 50-over final in either men's or women's cricket.

Even though the equation was firmly in South Africa's favour at the halfway mark, Wolvaardt's knock showed it was a good batting pitch – far from the slow, turning one that was provided for the opener – and England had an in-form Sciver-Brunt in their ranks.

However, the ultimate competitor Kapp immediately put an end to any thoughts of an unlikely England win as Jones was bowled by a nip-backer second ball and Knight dragged a wide ball on to her stumps three balls later, both greeted by her passionate roars of celebration.

Beaumont wafted at a loose delivery from Khaka and it felt like the game had been decided inside seven balls. Sciver-Brunt and Capsey played with maturity, absorbing the pressure by rotating the strike and punishing the change bowlers after Kapp's spell ended, which kept England's faint hopes alive.

Capsey was furious to throw her wicket away, chipping to mid-off having already been dropped on 28, but it was another stroke of tactical nous from Wolvaardt which put the nail in the coffin.

Kapp had been off the field with cramp but was thrown the ball in the 29th over for one more moment of magic and it came via a faint inside edge, beating Sciver-Brunt for pace after she had previously been in complete control, before Dunkley and Dean followed in the same way two overs later.

Having started the day in tears at South Africa's anthem, Kapp ended it as the leading wicket-taker in Women's World Cups by overtaking India's Jhulan Goswami.

For England, they were completely outplayed but it does feel like a missed opportunity considering their dominant record against the Proteas, and that they had managed to avoid India or Australia.

South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt: "Everyone is really excited. Having lost to this team in the semi-finals before, we are really pleased to get the win tonight.

"I was not sure we had got enough runs on the board as it was a flat wicket. Really glad we bowled the way we did.

"I did not expect to have the start with the ball that we did. Kapp was amazing but we still felt the pressure as long as Sciver-Brunt was there. It could have gone either way but I am happy it came off for us.

"It's very special to be history-makers today. This is a fair tournament playing each team and we have played some good cricket over the month.

"The final will be amazing whoever we play. We will celebrate this tonight and go back to the drawing board tomorrow."

England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt: "We've come a long way since the summer. We're a different side from then and we've learnt a lot.

"This will hurt but hopefully in time we'll be able to take the learnings from it and move forward because we've made some great strides so far in quite a short space of time.

"It's really exciting where we can go. To beat the best teams, you really have to be at your best and hopefully we'll come back stronger the next time."

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