England to see off South Africa? Can India upset Australia? ICC Women's World Cup semi-finals previewed

0:01Yeah, gone! Gone! He gets his fairytale ending! An epic way to go to a Test Match 100. The London Spirit of First Time win is the most remarkable thing you'll probably ever see in cricket. 604 and final Test wicket for Stuart Ford. It's India who will win the T20 World Cup. England's captain Ben Stokes, while he is there, England have hope.

0:33Welcome to Guwahati where myself, Nass and Tash are going to preview the women's semifinals. First one tomorrow, England against South Africa and then to Mumbai where it is India against the mighty Australia. First things first, how was your travel here? How was your 16-hour layover in Hyderabad? Did you find lots of conversation with Nass forthcoming? It was kind of in and out. Me and Katie Martin sort of stuck together the whole time. but the best part of the journey was me and Katie Martin in 14A and 14C. Nass is walking down the plane and he's realised he's in 14B. I've never seen a face like him.

1:09He was mortified. But I did the good thing and I went into the middle, but no, it was all right. We should be clear, when Nass travels, he normally does it with a hoodie, a cap, and he goes and finds the furthest corner away from anyone else and sits on his own. We turn up on the flight five or six hours later, and you're there, yakking away to these two. I was not yakking away. The longest day of my life. I had seven hours in Hyderabad. Now, Hyderabad Airport is magnificent. Very good, yes. It is superb. But I felt like Tom Hanks from the film The Terminal, to be honest. I'm just wandering around, almost moving in for the day, which was the good bit.

1:45But Katie Martin and Tash Farron, boy, do they talk. Seriously. Katie Martin went through the technique of every cricketer that has ever played the game. and this one starts talking about her 96 that she got. Where did you get it? Beckham and how she was not out on the sweep and it hit her glove and it would have been her first ever 100 so it was a long day but we got through it and it's nice to be in Guwahati. So you and Tom Hanks were you making sort of murals and all sorts of stuff and collecting cups to get away from Katie Martin and Tash Farrant to be honest. Anything. Lovely. If you've got seven hours to spare it's a lovely airport to be in transit in.

2:19Except when you're in the middle of those two. Anyway, right, tomorrow the first bit of news to bring you and good thing to talk about is that it sounds like Sophie Eccleston will be fit. Yeah that's a huge bit of news isn't it England and the best bowler in the world isn't she and I kind of felt that you know England were always gonna go on the side of caution with her obviously that dive where she just landed on her left shoulder which was good because it was her right shoulder that she dislocated a couple years ago in the hundreds so that's huge news for England you know she's been brilliant throughout the tournament missed one game through sickness but when she's been on the pitch, she's been brilliant with the ball.

2:54What did you make of the way that Nat Siverbrunt went about her captaincy? She's seen a star bowler go off after however long and only came back and bowled four balls. She then had to be quite inventive. How did she do? I thought she did well, especially not just the Sophie Eccleston injury, but I thought up until about 15 overs, England were pretty ordinary, to be honest. Lindsay Smith, with the new ball and a sweaty palm, was struggling to land it. She was bowling half-trackers and full tosses. In fact, they got a couple of wickets with full tosses. The Eccleston injury came in the first over because of a misfield and her dive on the boundary.

3:28And even Lauren Bell didn't quite get it right with the new ball. So I don't think England were good in the first 15 overs at all. And then obviously Sophie Eccleston was off the field for a long time. And to bring on Sophia Dunkley, I thought she was only going to bowl two balls to finish the over. But she gave her another couple and it came out fine. I thought she managed it well. I thought England fought back really well with the ball and in the field and then the batting was superb. New Zealand looked a side that was ready for home, to be honest. They were out of the competition. They've got, obviously, they're going to miss two greats of the game going forward.

3:59But, you know, if Susie Bates calls it a day as well. But I thought England were really good, just the sort of confidence they need to get into a big semi-final. So where would you say they're at as a side then, England, heading into this semi-final? I think they're in a good place. I think they've been in a few tricky situations in the tournament when they've lost early wickets, especially that middle order. But I think the most pleasing thing for England is that they've just managed to get over the line, especially that huge win against India when India were cruising. And then they picked up those wickets at the back end.

4:31So I think they're in a good place. I think that loss to Australia probably just brought them back down to earth as well. But I almost think that's a good thing, actually, being put under pressure. We know they've really struggled in big tournaments and also Ashes cricket when they are put under pressure. So I think they're in a really good place. They've obviously got good recent memories against South Africa. They like playing at Guwahati. They obviously won the first couple of games here. They also won a T20 series in Guwahati in 2019, which five or six of these girls were a part of. So I think they're in a good place.

5:06They just need to keep improving. What they have been brilliant at is in the field. I know a few missed fields in the last game, but they've taken all their catches. They haven't been necessarily tricky, but in that India game, they took their catches under pressure, and I think that's a good sign of where they're at as a team. We'll come back to Guwahati, because you've both done games, as you know about the conditions, but one change they made in the last game was Danny Wyatt Hodge coming in for Lamb. Would you have batted her at three? Yeah, I would have said so on commentary, really. If you lose an early wicket, no, Heather Knight, because you want to win that game and come here with confidence, But once that partnership between Jones and Beaumont was flourishing, I'd have just said in the dugout, Danny, you're next.

5:44You haven't had a hit in the comp. You haven't had a hit in the middle for a long time. Nets is one thing, but just getting used to the conditions and whatever. So I would have moved out. She ended up facing a handful of deliveries, which was neither one thing nor t 'other, really. But she is very experienced. She doesn't, you know her better than me, she doesn't strike me as someone that overcomplicates and overthinks things. She'll just go out and just play. So there's some cricketers that you'd be a little bit fearful if they've not had a hit and they're itching to get out in the middle. You'd be like, big game.

6:13But I don't know if Dani is that person. No, she's not. She's pretty simple. She's also great energy around the team. You see her in the warm up, even though she hasn't been playing. She's been buzzing around, kicking a football. And you're right now, she's very relaxed and calm. You know, she does the prep. She does the work. She would have been desperate to get out there. She would have hoped she would have maybe been brought in a game earlier or so. But she's very relaxed. I think she had a couple of balls at the end, so at least she got a few sighters. She remembered how to mark a guard. Yeah, exactly.

6:40That's what she got out of it. She took the right guard. So, yeah, I think if it's someone who's coming into the team, then definitely get her in at three. I think England have been good. I think they've been a little bit rigid in their batting order. I think a couple of times, Caps, he hasn't necessarily got the runs, but she's looked good against the spin. When that middle order was struggling, she could have maybe been sent in earlier. Also, Sophie Ecklund hasn't been used that much when they needed a bit of impetus in the game. So maybe just something to look at being a little bit flexible with the situation of the games.

7:11Can you be too flexible, though? Because I think that's a very, very, very valid point. But you want role clarity, and players are always after role clarity, etc. If you start flipping it around every sort of second game, can that lead to slight confusion? I think they've gone from the John Lewis mentality of go out, express yourself, smash everything, and what will be will be to, you know, Charlotte Edwards has come in and said, we need role clarity. You need to know where you're batting, what position you're going to be in, the situation, you've been there before. So when you get in the semifinal and you have lost a couple of wickets, you've been in this situation, you've trained the brain for this situation.

7:45But you also got to remember that, like in that last game, is it going to throw Heather Knight completely to suddenly move down to number four? Heather Knight's been around forever, 200, 300 international games. so it's not going to throw her in any way to just have a game down the order and it gives a promotion to Danny White Hodge. I agree that there are times. I've said in the past that Sophie Eccleston is one of the big power hitters in this side and I was surprised in the previous regime when the run rate was going up they didn't promote her to hit sixes and fours. She may get out but your strike rate, even Dunkley, I think her strike rate is about 54 in the competition.

8:23She struggled a little bit. But the problem with Sophie Eccleston, obviously, is getting back for twos and threes. And Charles Edwards wants this now to be a physically sort of very energetic side. So they don't promote her. So I think that I do mind going into a semi-final. I don't think now is the time for any kind of smart, clever move. You know your role. You know where you're at. Stick to that. Capsie's role at seven is an interesting one. It's the role that Liam Livingstone sort of was fulfilling for the England side, the men's side. and he found it difficult. It's not straightforward down there because you're never coming in with the perfect storm, are you?

8:59You're either battling because you're five down and you've got to sort of get a score on the board or you've just got to get on with it from ball one. Yeah, you're right. You're either coming in in a mini collapse and you're 100 for five. It's a number seven position or you're suddenly coming in with three overs to go so you lose the fluency of your batting. I think she's a really good, dangerous cricketer. I want someone like Alice Capsie in my side. Again, a good boundary hitter that can take the game away from the opposition. It is tricky, but like Livingston, she bowls a bit as well, which keeps her in the side.

9:32If she has those off-spin options, then it means you can have a balanced side that sometimes India in this tournament have struggled with. So I think she'll grow in that role. And what's better, playing at number seven or carrying the drinks? What do we expect from conditions you both have been here during this World Cup? Well, it's been a little bit on the slow side, probably the slow, maybe on par with Colombo at the beginning of the tournament. Obviously, England bowled out South Africa for 69 in the first game. I think that was almost a free. You can't really look into that too much. Lindsay Smith bowled beautifully up top and then South Africa.

10:07They just had a bit of a shocker, to be honest. So there has been a bit of spin, a little bit slower. The outfield is not as quick as Vizag and Indor. So I think it's just important. Obviously, I think it will be a fresh pitch tomorrow, so we're going to have to see what the pitch is looking like for the teams. I think it's just whoever assesses conditions the best. I think they've played at loads of different grounds now, lots of different pitches as well, so you kind of have to get there, have a look at the pitch and make sure in the first five or so overs that's when you need to assess the pitch.

10:37I don't think it will be a massively high-scoring game, but you still need to get enough runs against two really good sides. I think there will be some mental baggage there, to be honest, especially after now the last game, 97 all out, South Africa against Australia, with Alana King getting 7-foot. So they were bowled out for a spin in their first game in the group, and they've been bowled out by spin in the last game of the group. And it didn't spin that much in the first game. Lindsay Smith kept doing them on the inside, and Laura Wolfhard left. I remember doing the press conference, or she did the thing at the end, the presentation, and she said, we're just going to completely park this.

11:12Just completely not even going to think about it too much, we're going to move on. and they did. They went on a run and won games and qualified very easily and comfortably before the Australia game. But I just do hope they do learn from it. Like Lindsay Smith bowls little drifters. You've got to play her like a left-arm swing bowler. You don't play her like a left-arm spinner. It says on the graphic, you know, Lindsay Smith, slow left-arm spin. She isn't. She's Lindsay Smith, especially with a new ball, left-arm swing bowler and you've got to play her accordingly. So you'd hope South Africa learn from playing of Lindsay Smith in particular.

11:44It's going to be hot again tomorrow. It's hot now. So if Lindsay Mark struggled, do you think it was just a case she couldn't grip the ball the other day or in any way concerned about that? I think it was gripping the ball. I mean, you hope that. It was less so the full tosses that I was worried about. It was more the drag downs, just the way in which her arm path, it was just really quick and short, wasn't it, when she released the ball. Something with left arm spin, isn't it? When they have a game like that, you just get a little bit wide. Don't say the word. Yeah, I know, I'm not going to. But I think...

12:14Pash Farrant says Lindsay Smith. No, you said it. I think it would have been... You're just throwing you completely under the bus. Yeah, I know. Thanks, guys. It was a day game in Vizag. It was really hot. I mean, it's going to be hot tomorrow as well. And she's been brilliant in the tournament. She's almost been the key for England. They really struggled in the power play leading up to this for the last 18 months. They couldn't find who would bowl with Lauren Bell. And so Lindsay Smith, she has to just realise, you know, she's been almost England's best player in this tournament. She started brilliantly and she's also plugged the gap with the power play and she's bowled at the death as well against India.

12:49So she's got a lot to look back on in this tournament that she should be proud of and she'll go into tomorrow with full of confidence. You dragged that back beautifully there. Are you joking? Honestly. We should stop now. She can't land it until she's been brilliant. If it's slow and stoppy like Tath is suggesting tomorrow, you're talking about mental scarring. What about England against Australia in the middle overs? I know Alana King is in top form and a fantastic leggy. But against the other spinners, they got a bit stuck as well. Where do you want to see England improve if it's like that in the middle overs?

13:21Just manoeuvring of the strike. Everyone talks about boundary hitting or whatever, but to let Alana... Alana King is world-class, as we've seen against South Africa, as we've seen for a very long time. But to let her bowl 10 overs for 20, and I think four of those 20 were actually, should have been buys or something, to let her bowl the way she did, it's not about just your boundary options, It's about knocking and rotating the strike. And look at how Ash Gardner and Annabelle Sutherland played, coming fully down. Sutherland coming down, very similar phase against England's spinners, under a bit of pressure, used her feet, knocked it.

13:56Ash Gardner sitting back, pulling. But not just that, not one dimension. Then she'd come down, or Sutherland would stay back. They would hit boundaries, but they'd knock it, and you'd have two right-handed batters that were rotating strike. I think England just got stuck. It was almost like their mentality was, we're not going to get out to Alana King. Now, against Australia, that's dangerous because that's 10 overs gone. As it is, Australia is just slightly above you in class. If you then let Alana King bowl 10 overs for nothing, you're going to have to catch up somewhere, which is not easy. Now, South Africa is slightly different.

14:29You can catch up in certain areas, but it's the key is rotating. And Heather Knight's vital for that. Heather Knight staying in and sweeping and reverse sweeping like she did against Bangladesh on this ground she got them out of trouble against Bangladesh I think Heather Knight batting through will help that situation

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15:26Where is South Africa at? What are their strengths and where will they challenge England? They will challenge England. I think, you know, They didn't do a good show of themselves in the first game or against Australia. Their batting is their major strength. Their top order, Laura Wolvard, Tasman Bridge, she's got 100 in this tournament. Hasn't done much since then. So their batting is definitely their strongest suit. What England will probably be happy about, they haven't got the strongest spinners. They've got Malaba, the left-arm spinner, who is very good. But around that, they've just almost got part-time spinners, Chloe Tryon and Sunelis.

16:02So South Africa are a very good side. I would say England are probably the favourites going into it. It's that batting. Can they break that partnership up top? Because Laura Wolva, if she gets in, then we know what a good player she is. And she's had good success against England as well over the last couple of years. So it'll be a really good game. I think England are slight favourites, but they just need to make sure they get into their middle order. Is South African cricket on a nice path upwards, would you say? Yeah, I mean, this World Cup, like various men's World Cup and previous Women's World Cup, whether it be T20 or 50 over or the ICC World Test Championship, has the same sort of pattern.

16:37Everyone talks about England, the big three, and the big three have been around. You look at all ICC events in the last hour of the long, the big three have been there or thereabouts, men and women, and the one side that is always there and thereabouts is South Africa. And we've had various people on the podcast, Graham Smith, talk about the challenges of South African cricket and TV rights and TV revenue, and that's why SA20 is so important. And yet they continue to manage to be a wonderful cricketing nation, as they should be. We've played against them. They're an unbelievable sporting nation, let alone a cricketing nation.

17:14So they believe, you think of Marizan Kap tomorrow. She is there not to just, we lost a semi-final, we're on our way home, we did okay. She's there, she wants to play Australia or India in a World Cup final. So, you know, they will want to put on a performance for a very proud cricketing nation. And they are a good side when you have people. I think Tasman Brits is the key wicket tomorrow. She has been feast or famine. She's had a wonderful year, but she's been 100 or not many at all, which you don't mind from your opener. If you're going to get in, go on and get 100. But if she can get them off to a flyer, then the others can bat around her.

17:47If you lose that early wicket and then the mental baggage and scarring of 69 all out comes back and then England can control the game. If Brits is smashing it, she is powerful. She hits, she like, bang, whacks it, have mid-off and mid-on, very straight. She hits in the V, very good. If she's blasting it, then South Africa will feel they can control the game. With Marazan, this could be her last hurrah in a 50-over World Cup, you would think. This is her big op. Yeah, it definitely could be. It will definitely be her last 50-over World Cup. And she's just, I've played with her, She's the most passionate cricketer I've ever played, but she's quite scary as well.

18:27And she loves bowling at the likes of Tammy Beaumont, Heather Knight. She revels in it with that sort of a waist swing and then that nip backer, which we know that the top order of England have struggled with that. So, you know, she will want to make sure that she hasn't had the best tournament, hasn't got the wickets to her name. So I think that's probably when she's at her most dangerous, hasn't quite hit her straps. So yeah, Marazine Kappen, I think Nass is right with Tasman Brits and Laura Wolva at the top. But I just, I love watching her. She's so aggressive. She's so passionate. I love watching her when the national anthem's going on.

19:03You just see all of the, she wears her emotions on her sleeve. So she'll be very up for tomorrow. And those England batters will have to get that pad out of the way. She's a real competitor. That's her biggest thing. You have skill and up for the competition. She's a real, you see her when she gets out. She'll be like five minutes lecturing the next batter on this is what you've got to do. I'd be like her, I'd be so scared. I'd make a complete go the other way and just avoid Marazan because she tells you you better win this game because I've just got out. Right, so England and South Africa tomorrow here in Guwahati.

19:34The second semi is in Navi Mumbai. Weather forecast is indifferent, isn't it, for those semis? And just to be clear, if they can't get a game, I'm sure they will, but if they can't get a game, Australia will go through because they topped the group and India came fourth. Weather update. We're okay, I think, tomorrow. Famous last words. Guwahati weather forecast. The beak in Guwahati works, does it? Right, okay. Yeah. So the weather forecast, okay for tomorrow. But Mumbai, for the two days, because there is a reserve day, is not great. And then, as you say, Australia, if it was a complete rain off.

20:03And they've had an injury as well. Pratikaral out of the tournament. Yeah. I think I read this morning hairline fracture in there as well. I saw her still a bit on social media. I thought, oh, my goodness. So it's a real shame for her because she's the second leading run scorer in the tournament and obviously the partnership with Smriti Mandana and they've called in Shefali Verma. Yeah, and that would be really interesting. I actually think that might be a good thing against Australia. If she plays Shefali Verma, we know what she does. She goes out there, she's trying to put bowlers under pressure straight up and I almost feel that against Australia, if you just knock it around and get a pass score, then the Australian batting line-up is just far too good for that at the moment.

20:41So if she does come in, it depends how they get their balance of their side. Obviously, they probably need that extra bowler. Maybe they play Amonjot Kaur. So it'll be interesting to see. But actually, someone like Shefali Verma to go out there and try and blast the Australian openers off their line and lengths might be a good game. That's quite a challenge, though. They just come in cold and go and take on Australia. I would actually go slightly different. Harleen Deol, I'd open with her. But if it does rain and it's a reduced game, I would go Shefali Verma. If it is, say, a 25, 30 over game, then definitely her T20 stats are a lot better than her 50 over stats and she can hit a big ball so I'll probably go her if it's a reduced game.

21:18Have India balanced their side well enough through this tournament? Have they given the captain enough options with the ball? Well they can't really do much about it because that top five no one bowls in that top five so I think it's really tricky for them. I think Harleen Diol at number three I was very surprised when they dropped Jemima because he hasn't had the best tournament but she is a gun player so I almost thought Harleen Diol was probably the one who could have missed out to get that extra bowler in so they're top five who are their best batters because none of them bowl it's really hard to balance the side at the back end of the tournament they have felt that they needed to go for an extra bowl obviously Harman Preet bowls herself but hasn't bowled for a while So it's a challenge that they're going to have to deal with.

22:08But maybe Pratika Rawal being out, that's how they get that extra bowler in. Would you say that in this tournament they're the one side that when you look at the semifinals and the way we go, you may think India have got a chance here. Australia will be like England, South Africa, India. Which one could really challenge us? Would you say India? Yeah, I think India. But probably because of Richa Gosch, the unpredictability of her being at number seven, and she's floated around in that middle order. I think she can change a game the way that she goes about it I think obviously you don't want to just put it on one player you've obviously got the likes of Smriti Mandana and Harman Preet Kaur who always brings it when the pressure is on in big games but just because though that India have Risha Gosh whereas I don't think England and South Africa necessarily have that big hitter at number sort of seven or eight or anyone that's firing so I think she's the key if she can get a really quick 50 or something like she has in the tournament she got that 90 odd earlier in the tournament I think she's the key I think Australia they have to be put under the pressure and also in that middle order when their spinners are on as well did you make yourself a coffee and not no one else these are supposed to be props look they're only there for whatever now our producers pushed the boat out with three red cups there on good stuff it's gonna be loud in that semi-final in Mumbai those here's sellout talking about a huge crowd which Australia will will cope with that fine and I'm guessing Alisa Healy will be back I haven't read I saw some footage of her doing some sort of gentle jogs around the ground in the last game.