Athapaththu, 34, has been coy about her future over the last several months
Andrew Fidel Fernando28-Jul-2024
Chamari Athapaththu finished Asia Cup as the top run-getter•Sri Lanka Cricket
Having hinted for several months that she may be close to an international retirement, Chamari Athapaththu confirmed following Sri Lanka’s Asia Cup victory in Dambulla, that she aims to be around for her national team until next year’s ODI World Cup at least.Athapaththu, 34, has been coy about her future over the last several months. She is Sri Lanka’s captain and almost indisputably their best player. However, she had posted on social media that a series in South Africa in April would be her “last duty” with the national team but subsequently refused to expand on that post.Related
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“Hopefully I’ll still play till the next 50-over World Cup,” Athapaththu told the host broadcaster when asked if she would promise her fans they’ll see her play for a long time in Sri Lanka colours. The dates for next year’s World Cup have not yet been confirmed, but India will host the tournament.This means that Athapaththu will be around for the next two global events – this year’s T20 World Cup in Bangladesh, set to be played in October, and the ODI version next year.Athapaththu was once again instrumental to her team’s success at the Asia Cup. Not only did she hit 61 off 43 in the final as Sri Lanka chased down 168, she was also by a huge distance the top run-scorer in the tournament, having hit 304 in five innings, at a strike rate of 147. The next-best was India’s Shafali Verma, with 200 runs at a strike rate of 141.
With the 49ers Enterprises looking to make their mark, Rangers are now reportedly set to sign a versatile forward who has become convinced by the Ibrox project ahead of the summer transfer window.
The 49ers' Rangers project
Set to complete their takeover of the Scottish giants, the 49ers will be hoping to turn things around at Rangers and transform the Gers into the dominant champions they once were. As seen at Elland Road and Leeds United already, too, the American owners are perfectly capable of leaving their mark on a club and achieving their goals.
However, with a new manager needed and Celtic’s Scottish Premiership dominance only growing stronger, the extent of the 49ers’ task at Rangers cannot be overstated. And they must get things right this summer.
To that end, a number of names have already been linked with the job at Ibrox. The likes of Rafael Benitez represent the experienced choice, whilst Steven Gerrard would perhaps be the one that splits the most opinions after how he left Rangers for Aston Villa in 2021. Meanwhile, other names such as Danny Rohl and Davide Ancelotti would certainly be intriguing to watch in their own right.
Sheffield Wednesday manager DannyRohl
With the Scottish Premiership now concluded for another season too, the Gers may have their answer sooner rather than later over just who steps into the role. The end of the campaign also means the end of Barry Ferguson’s interim role in charge of the club, but he has reiterated his desire to take the permanent role more than once.
The interim boss told reporters in recent weeks: “Everybody’s got an opinion, I don’t care about people’s opinion, I know I can do the job. I know I’ve got a real good staff behind me. I’ve been asked this question two or three weeks in a row, I think it’s clear, it doesn’t scare me one single bit.”
Meanwhile, away from the dugout, it almost goes without saying that a large part of the 49ers’ project will be the recruitment that they go in pursuit of this summer, which looks set to start with a Paris Saint-Germain talent.
Rangers set to sign versatile PSG forward Oumar Camara
According to RMC Sport’s Fabrice Hawkins, Rangers are now set to sign Oumar Camara from PSG this summer, with the versatile young forward convinced by the project in Glasgow. The teenager has captained PSG’s U19 side this season, but is set to secure a surprising move to Scotland in the coming months – likely becoming the first signing of the 49ers era.
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At just 18 years old, whether Camara would make an immediate impact at Ibrox remains to be seen. The winger, who can play on both sides, has enjoyed an impressive season at youth level, scoring nine goals and setting up another four in 25 games in all competitions. After failing to feature for the first team, however, the young Frenchman looks set to leave in pursuit of senior football.
Whether Camara’s reported arrival is a sign of things to come at Rangers will also be interesting to watch, as the 49ers attempt to build their project and turn things around at the Scottish club.
Chelsea are now determined to win the race for a “decisive creator”, and they are readying a €30m (£26m) offer for his services, according to a report.
Blues pursuing new attacking midfielder
Throughout the campaign, Enzo Maresca’s side have largely done a good job crafting opportunities for Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku in attack, having created 83 big chances in the Premier League, the joint-second highest total in the division.
Those figures suggest a lack of cutting edge from the strikers may be a problem for the Blues, so it is little wonder they are set to pursue a new striker in the summer transfer window, and they are now leading the race for Borussia Dortmund star Serhou Guirassy.
However, Maresca is also clearly keen to bring in a new playmaker this summer, with Lyon assist king Rayan Cherki among the potential targets, alongside Como’s Nico Paz, who has impressed manager Cesc Fàbregas with his performances in Italy this season.
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There has now been a new update on Chelsea’s pursuit of Paz, with a report from Spain revealing the west Londoners are now readying a €30m (£26m) offer for the 20-year-old, as they are determined to win the race for his signature.
Doing so could be a tall order, however, with the Argentine attracting attention from some of Europe’s top clubs, including Real Madrid, who retain the option to re-sign their former player for the bargain fee of less than €10m (£8.6m), which could be appealing.
Como's Assane Diao,NicoPazand Maxence Caqueret celebrate their first goal
The report states the youngster has been one of the Serie A’s stars this season, so it is little wonder he has garnered interest from some European giants, and he is said to be a prime target for the Blues, whose model is built around signing young players.
"Decisive creator" Paz impressing in Italy
Although Real Madrid have a buy-back clause, they may be ruing the decision to let the Como star leave in the first place, given the level of his performances in the Serie A this season.
The Spain-born maestro has six goals and seven assists to his name in 30 appearances, and his displays have earned him a call-up to national side Argentina, setting up a goal on his debut against Bolivia back in October.
The starlet has developed a strong relationship with Como forward Assane Diao, and Ben Mattinson lauded him as a “decisive creator” after setting up the Senegal international’s goal in the 3-0 victory against Lecce last time out.
Paz’s performances for Como suggest he is now ready for a move to a top club, so it is exciting news that Chelsea are stepping up their transfer pursuit, but Real Madrid’s cheap buy-back clause could pose a major problem.
Manchester City are still on course for Champions League qualification after one of the most unlikely comebacks you’ll see all season.
On Saturday lunchtime, the Sky Blues found themselves 2-0 down at home to Crystal Palace, with the Eagles having a third ruled out for offside, before squandering another gilt-edged opportunity, cutting Man City apart time after time with ease.
Kevin De Bruyne
Thus, with 25 minutes on the clock, few would have forecast that the Citizens would run out 5-2 winners, as transpired.
Kevin De Bruyne’s free-kick got the comeback started and then Omar Marmoush lashed home an equaliser soon after, with second-half goals from Mateo Kovačić and then youngsters James McAtee and Nico O’Reilly completing the turnaround.
So, with six games remaining, the Sky Blues remain in the hunt for a top five finish but, if they’re to make it, Pep Guardiola must give more opportunities to his “top talent” who’s showing flashes of a certain Davild Silva.
What made David Silva such a special player
David Silva arrived at Manchester City in the summer of 2010 for a reported £30m, a big fee at the time, as part of their first wave of eye-catching signings, alongside Jérôme Boateng, Yaya Touré, James Milner, Aleksandar Kolarov, Edin Džeko and Mario Balotelli.
Well, considering he now has a statue outside the Etihad, it’s fair to say Silva departed a Man City legend, with the table below outlining exactly why.
Appearances
436
Goals
77
Assists
131
Premier League titles
4
FA Cups
2
EFL Cups
5
During Silva’s first season in Manchester, he was a key figure in the side that won the FA Cup, beating Stoke 1-0 in the final, thereby securing the club’s first piece of major silverware for 35 years.
The following season, quite famously, the Citizens pipped Manchester United to the Premier League title on the final day, and this has really proved to be just the start of their dominance over the last decade or so.
Former teammate Kyle Walker claims that Silva is the best player he’s ever played with, while ex-Liverpool and England defender Jamie Carragher told the Telegraph that he believes the Spaniard is Man City’s ‘best-ever player’.
Chalkboard
Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.
However, do the Sky Blues currently have a homegrown youngster breaking into the first team with a skill-set reminiscent of the great midfielder?
Man City's next David Silva
Saturday saw the aforementioned McAtee make his full-Premier League debut for Manchester City, marking the occasion with a goal from one of his 27 touches of the ball, played in behind by Ederson before rounding Dean Henderson and slotting home, before pulling off a spectacular back-flip.
The 22-year-old has been on Man City’s books since the age of 11 and that was his 31st appearance for the first team, although only seven of these have been starts, all in the Community Shield, EFL Cup or FA Cup prior to this weekend.
He did see significantly more game time during a two-season loan spell at Sheffield United, making 75 appearances for the Blades, so let’s assess why he’s being compared to Silva.
Appearances
106
89
Minutes
5,245
6,742
Goals
21
13
Assists
9
27
Shots on target per 90
0.67
0.80
Touches
2,005
4,652
The table emphasises that McAtee still has a long way to go to ever reach Silva’s level, but he certainly has the potential to do so.
Manchester City's James McAtee in action withTottenhamHotspur's Radu Dragusin,TottenhamHotspur's CristianRomeroandTottenhamHotspur's Rodrigo Bentancur
Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout labels him a “top talent”, impressed by his “electric pace and acceleration” as well as his “high technical” level and “dribbling” ability. Those last few traits, combined with the youngster’s marvelous left foot and low centre of gravity, are certainly reminiscent of Silva in his pomp.
Guardiola, meantime, said on Saturday “I know how good he is…we can rely on him”, so McAtee has certainly proved he deserves more starts during the remainder of this season.
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Karachi Kings are in a spot of bother and Azam Khan is making his presence felt
Danyal Rasool05-Mar-2024
Sultans supremacy
The Sultans rank third on the overall wins table at the PSL, and if that doesn’t seem remarkable, it should. They started out two full seasons late, and yet just two other teams boast more wins than their 43, with their win-loss ratio of 1.535 comparing very favourably with teams in the other big franchise leagues (IPL, BBL, CPL, SA20, T20 Blast, the Hundred, BPL and LPL). In fact, it’s pushing up to top-10 levels. And it’s because every year, they seem to put together the sort of season they’re having now.Mohammad Rizwan’s captaincy, from his charisma to his tactics, is unmatched across the league. A set-up that blends local with foreign coaches, and more groundbreakingly boasts the only female coaches in the league, would have likely received significantly more scrutiny if results had gone awry. Instead, their on-field performances have been near-flawless, with the league’s two top wicket-takers, a spinner and a fast bowler, hailing from the franchise. Just about every single win has been comfortable, and as the table takes shape, it’s hard to argue they aren’t the best team in the competition.The last four seasons have seen the Sultans finish top or second after the league stages, and they have made three of the last four finals. While history suggests anything can happen in the knockouts, Sultans’ league supremacy remains unrivalled.
Karachi (the Kings, the crowd)
If the Kings lose a game but no one shows up to watch it, did it actually happen? The team is under new management and captaincy, but all they’ve accomplished so far is demonstrate that they are slightly better than a Qalandars side at its worst. Seems like a lot of effort for little reward.The first leg was played in Lahore and Multan, and the Kings might have hoped moving to Karachi would help reinvigorate them but it hasn’t worked out like that. Then again, is it really home advantage if the home crowd doesn’t show up? The relatively sparsely populated stands in ostensibly Pakistan’s most cricket-mad city stood in stark contrast to what Lahore, Rawalpindi and Multan offered.Karachi’s absent crowd is a regular whipping boy for the other franchises, especially the only one below them on the points table. But if you’ve ever been to the National stadium without a media or VIP pass, you’d be surprised that anyone shows up at all.No one quite knows how to get there on matchday, with security protocols maddeningly random, and ticket printing booths far away. And while at Gaddafi stadium, it can almost seem like there’s no bad seat, in Karachi, there’s barely a good one. Chain-link fences obstruct the view for anyone sitting closer to the front, and if you move further back, you can barely make out the players let alone the ball.It’s not the spectators who’ve let that stadium down, but the other way around. And, for now, the Kings haven’t exactly given them a reason to turn up, either.Azam Khan has come back from a quiet start with two blistering knocks•PCB
The Azam Khan culture war
The Azam Khan culture wars take on a fresh dimension every week, and after a feeble start to the PSL, two blistering innings have demonstrated the batter’s value to his side. He isn’t Pakistan’s best keeper, fielder, or runner, and so it can seem as if he has more going against him than for him. But there is perhaps no one in Pakistan cricket who can overpower a bowling attack towards the backend of a T20 innings like the Islamabad United wicketkeeper, making up for lack of agility with fearsome strength and the sweetest timing.Tim David once told ESPNcricinfo he’d consciously worked on becoming a lower-order hitter because everyone wanted to bat in the powerplay in T20 cricket. As Pakistan wrestle with how to fit an expanding pool of top-order players into the top three, Azam continues to press his case at a time of the innings few put their hands up.
The PSL’s unusual spinners
While the national side has suddenly run dry of T20 spinners, the PSL can’t get enough of them. Leggie Usama Mir is now the tournament’s leading wicket-taker, while mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed and Shadab Khan place third and fourth.But Abrar isn’t the only unorthodox spinner in the PSL this season. Peshawar Zalmi’s Arif Yaqoob, who has barely played any first-class cricket, took four wickets in an over to deny United at the death, and has an action so uncanny you can barely keep an eye on his wrist, let alone the ball. Quetta Gladiators’ Usman Tariq, meanwhile, breaks off all his momentum by coming to a near standstill at the moment of release, and then holding the pose like a penalty taker waiting for the goalkeeper to commit.Salman Fayyaz of Qalandars appears to fall away as he sends down his legbreaks, though he did remain upright enough to take a sharp return catch and get rid of Alex Hales. Sultans have tried out Faisal Akram, perhaps best described as a left arm wristspinner with a googly for a stock delivery.Abrar remains a cut above the rest, but the emergence of the others suggests an experimentally permissive culture at the PSL. For spinners, history suggests that can only be a good thing.
Having endured a lean patch since her 171* in Derby, the batter returned to form with a 66-ball 63
S Sudarshanan24-Feb-2022When Deepti Sharma was dismissed in the 18th over of the run chase, New Zealand were starting to regain control. The pressure applied by the spin duo of Frances Mackay and Fran Jonas had consumed Deepti – she had faced a combined 23 balls from them and failed to score off 14 of them.From 53 for 1 at the ten-over mark, India had only added 36 more in the next 7.4 overs. In walked the out-of-form Harmanpreet Kaur to join the set Smriti Mandhana. It was a comeback of sorts for Harmanpreet, who had been rested in the previous match.India came to New Zealand having lost just one out of ten ODIs while chasing since the start of 2019. But on this tour, they had lost both their previous matches when they had been set a target.Related
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Were they on course to botch another chase? Would the batters undo the spinners’ efforts, which had helped restrict New Zealand to a total that looked assailable?On Thursday, Harmanpreet used the sweep to good effect for most part of her innings. Anything remotely in her arc and around middle and leg was swept away towards square leg as she kept the runs flowing, while also not denying Mandhana the strike.She had got out to a full toss off Jonas in the second ODI to give the teenager her first wicket in the format. But come the fifth game, she was cautious to begin with, taking no chances off the first eight balls she faced from the left-arm spinner.At the start of Jonas’ fifth over – the 24th of the chase – Harmanpreet slinked down the track and thumped the ball over deep midwicket. The nifty footwork, hand-eye coordination and the shot had shades of the trademark strokes with which she had lit up Derby during her 171 not out in the Women’s World Cup of 2017. The shot even elicited a bear hug in response from Mandhana.”I think it was important for the whole team, and it was good to see her come back and play the shots she was playing,” Mandhana said after the match. “I was happy to be at the other hand to watch the ball flying off her bat. When she hit that six I felt like hugging her. I felt happy for her.”There was no looking back from thereon for the pair, who found at least one boundary in almost every over from then. Harmanpreet took a special liking to Mackay in the 28th over, hitting her for back-to-back fours after she had been given a life.Smriti Mandhana added 64 for the third wicket with Harmanpreet Kaur•Getty Images”It was important for the partnership to happen before the World Cup,” Mandhana said.She was right. In 27 innings since that 171* against Australia, Harmanpreet had scored 627 runs at an average of 27.26 and a strike rate of 66.91 before Thursday’s knock. Her best score in six knocks since the start of last year’s tour of England last year was 19. She had come under fire from numerous voices, including those of former players.However, in the interim, she had done well for Melbourne Renegades in the WBBL, both with bat and ball. But the performances had dried up at the international level by the time the New Zealand tour began.”My conversation with Harry di was outside of cricket,” Mandhana said when asked about the words she shared with the senior batter. “I believe if someone is not confident or timing the ball, it is better not to talk to them about cricket. We spent time going out, having dinner, having fun. We tried to distract her so that she can start afresh. I have not had any batting conversation before in the middle today.”Harmanpreet finished with 63 off just 66 balls and played a key part in India picking up their first win of the tour.In two of the last three ICC tournaments, Harmanpreet produced at least one big knock for India: her ODI best in 2017, and a maiden T20I century in the T20 World Cup in 2018, when India made the semi-finals.With the upcoming ODI World Cup just around the corner, and to be played in New Zealand, Harmanpreet couldn’t have chosen a better time to get back among the runs.
An end to your season is one thing, but falling in 15 innings during a winner-take-all postseason game is another.
Tigers fans suffered that unfortunate reality Friday when they fell 3-2 to the Mariners in Seattle in a marathon Game 5 of the American League Division Series. Seattle will now face the Blue Jays in the AL Championship Series. And the Tigers, well, they're joining David Ortiz with the Yankees in Cancún.
It was a heartbreaking end of the season for Detroit, who couldn't capitalize on another strong outing from their ace Tarik Skubal, although nobody could have expected the game would have lasted a full nine innings after his night was done. The game bled early into Saturday morning on the East Coast as the Mariners earned their first trip to the ALCS since 2001. Tigers play-by-play man Dan Dickerson was on the radio call, and captured the emotions of every Detroit fan as he was caught on a hot mic after the devastating loss.
"We'll be back to talk about it after this on the Detroit Tigers radio network," Dickerson said before he thought he was off the air. The broadcast stayed on the air and a hilarious rant ensued at what was after 1 a.m. in the morning in Detroit. "I don't have to do a game [recap], ah f—. F— this game recap. Oh, I'm sorry, was that out loud?" He continued on the airwaves.
Listen to Dickerson's quick rant after the wild loss below. Note, the clip does include profanity:
Although his comments appeared that they weren't supposed to hit public ears, it perfectly encapsulated the night for the Tigers as their offense slowed once again other than Kerry Carpenter. Hopefully Dickerson was able to get some rest after he gave the unwanted game recap.
أعلنت رابطة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز عن المدرب الفائز بجائزة الأفضل خلال شهر نوفمبر الماضي، بعد أن حصد إيجور تياجو لاعب برينتفورد جائزة أفضل لاعب.
وعبر موقع الدوري الإنجليزي، فقد أعلن عن تتويج إنزو ماريسكا مدرب تشيلسي بجائزة أفضل مدرب لشهر نوفمبر للمرة الثانية بعد قيادة البلوز لسجل خالي من الهزائم.
An unbeaten November for @ChelseaFC 👊
Enzo Maresca is @BarclaysFooty Manager of the Month 👔 pic.twitter.com/N66yTOIz2G — Premier League (@premierleague) December 12, 2025
وحصل إنزو ماريسكا مدرب تشيلسي على جائزة أفضل مدرب خلال شهر نوفمبر، ليحقق الجائزة للمرة الثانية.
أقرأ أيضاً.. شيرر: مستقبل محمد صلاح مع ليفربول يعتمد عليه.. ومن المؤسف أن تكون هذه النهاية
وقاد ماريسكا تشيلسي خلال شهر استثنائي لتحقيق ثلاثة انتصارات وتعادل في مباراة واحدة، وحصد 10 نقاط وهو أعلى رصيد نقاط لأي فريق في الدوري الإنجليزي في نوفمبر.
وأصبح ماريسكا سادس مدرب لتشيلسي يحصد جائزة مدرب الشهر أكثر من مرة، وفي المجمل فاز تسعة مدربين للبلوز بهذه الجائزة.
وتفوق ماريسكا على مرشحين آخرين للفوز بجائزة مدرب الشهر في نوفمبر مثل ميكيل أرتيتا مدرب آرسنال وآوناي إيمري مدرب أستون فيلا وبيب جوارديولا مدرب مانشستر سيتي وفابيان هورزلر مدرب برايتون وماركو سيلفا مدرب فولهام.
McCullum and Stokes have deferred the decision to unleash an all pace attack in the first Ashes Test
Vithushan Ehantharajah19-Nov-20252:28
Why England could risk Wood for first Ashes Test in Perth
England have deferred their decision on whether to hit Australia with an all-pace attack in the first Ashes Test at Perth’s Optus Stadium after confirming a 12-man squad featuring both Mark Wood and Shoaib Bashir.Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum still have designs on letting their fast bowlers loose on what is expected to be the fastest pitch of the series. Wood is deemed fit, having recovered from a tight hamstring sustained in the warm-up match with the Lions last week. While he is expected to make the final XI, England are giving themselves time before deciding whether to go all-in with their seamers.Wood bowled for 40 minutes at the Perth nets during Tuesday’s training session, and sent down just two overs on Wednesday afternoon, before taking part in light fielding drills on the outfield with physical preparation coach Pete Sim. He then had a long look at the pitch with stadium curator Isaac McDonald.Wood would be one of five players in the XI with previous Test experience in Australia, along with Stokes, Joe Root, Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope. The 35-year old was also the standout quick on the 2021-22 tour, taking 17 wickets at 26.64.Related
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That includes a career best 6 for 37 in the last Test of that tour, a day-nighter in Hobart, when England also opted to field an XI without a specialist spinner. It was the second time they had done so in that series after the second Test in Adelaide (also a pink-ball match), which was acknowledged as an error in hindsight when seamer Ollie Robinson resorted to sending down a few overs of offspin.You have to go back to Boxing Day 1998 for the last time England fielded an XI for a red-ball match in Australia without a specialist spinner. They also did not field one in their last Test in July, against India at the Kia Oval, with Bashir out with a finger injury and Liam Dawson, his replacement for the fourth Test, dropped.Bashir’s characteristics – a high release point and knack of overspin – suits Australian pitches, something Stokes and McCullum raved about when bringing him into the set-up at the start of 2024 for the tour of India.It is worth noting that Nathan Lyon averages 20.86 at this ground, with 29 dismissals from five Tests, though is obviously a far more accomplished and seasoned operator than Bashir, whose 68 dismissals have come at 39.00 in his 19 Tests so far. The 22-year old struggled during the match between England and the Lions, bowling in three of the four innings and returning figures of 2 for 151 from 24 overs.England squad for Perth TestBen Stokes (c), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Mark Wood
Spinners demolish SA for their third-lowest total in ODIs before openers secure ten-wicket win
Firdose Moonda03-Oct-2025
Linsey Smith picked up 3 for 7•ICC/Getty Images
If anyone thought England were not serious contenders for this World Cup, think again. They stormed to the top of the points table with a massive victory over a hapless South Africa, who were dismissed for their lowest score against England, second-lowest at a World Cup and third-lowest score overall.England had to chase just 70 and did in 14.1 overs. The whole match lasted 34.5 overs, not even the duration of a full T20. After one game, England’s net run rate sits at 3.773 – more than double that of Australia, who are next best – and puts them in pole position in the early standings.South Africa’s total belied conditions which neither seamed nor spun substantially as they disintegrated against a smart England attack. They appeared surprised by the early use of spin in the form of Linsey Smith and lost their three biggest batters to her. Smith, playing in her first ODI World Cup game and opening the bowling, became the only bowler to dismiss all three of Laura Wolvaardt, Tazmin Brits and Marizanne Kapp in the same innings.At the other end, Lauren Bell and Nat Sciver-Brunt bowled good lengths to pluck another three wickets in the first 10.1 overs. At 38 for 6 just out of the powerplay, all South Africa could hope for was to crawl to respectability and they didn’t get there. They were bowled out in 20.4 overs and only Sinalo Jafta, promoted to No. 6, got into double-figures.The rest of the batters will need to look at their movement at the crease, which was all but absent, and their shot selection. There will be questions asked over their selection. Annerie Dercksen, who scored her maiden ODI ton in Sri Lanka earlier this year, was left out as South Africa opted for all their allrounders.South Africa could not have imagined how quickly things would fall apart after Wolvaardt got proceedings underway with a square drive and Brits carved Bell through point in an opening over that cost nine runs. Smith struck second ball when Wolvaardt played across the line and popped up a leading edge to give a simple return catch. The first ball of Smith’s next over drifted in to Brits from around the wicket and snuck through the bat-pad gap to bowl her.With both openers’ dismissed, Sune Luus at No. 3 had a big job on her hands but fell to a Bell inswinger that curled in to take out off stump. Three balls later, Kapp was also done by drift as Smith got the ball to squeeze past her inside edge and on to middle stump. All of Wolvaardt, Brits, Luus and Kapp will need to work on their footwork going forward.In the mess, there were some shots that suggested South Africa still knew how to bat. Jafta drove Bell through cover point for her first boundary and Anneke Bosch nailed a cover drive – but the moments where they were on top of the England bowlers were few and very far between.Jafta should have been out on 8 when she advanced down the track in an attempt to drive Smith and missed. Amy Jones could not collect quickly enough and fluffed the stumping. That was the only blip in an otherwise flawless England performance.Sciver-Brunt brought herself on in the eighth over and had success with her first ball, Bosch walking across her stumps to be hit on the knee roll in front of middle and leg. She didn’t review what was a correct lbw decision. Sciver-Brunt also struck with the first ball of her next over. Chloe Tryon tried to flick her into the leg side but got a leading edge and was caught by Alice Capsey at mid-on.Jafta entered double figures when she guided Sophie Ecclestone to third but she didn’t have any support. Nadine de Klerk edged Ecclestone to Heather Knight at slip and Masabata Klaas played for turn against a Charlie Dean ball that held its line and was bowled. Jafta herself fell when she tried to hit Ecclestone back over her head but missed and was bowled. Dean finished things off when she beat Nonkululekho Mlaba’s slog.England’s chase was all but academic despite the best efforts of Kapp, who found her rhythm with back-of-a-length balls that beat the batters consistently. South Africa reviewed an lbw shout against Tammy Beaumont, which nipped back in but still hit her outside the line. Beaumont and Jones were patient against a disciplined South African attack and chose not to rush the result. They were 39 without loss in the powerplay but put the foot down straight after.Jones threaded Mlaba through point as soon as the fielding restrictions were lifted and then sent her back over her head and swung Klaas over mid-on in a reminder that there’s not only one “Storm Amy” in England today. She was dropped by Klaas in her follow through later in the over and then took back-to-back boundaries off the usually miserly Ayabonga Khaka to put England one hit away. They finished things off with a boundary from Beaumont.South Africa have suffered similarly at the hands of England before in a World Cup in India, but in the pre-professional era. They were bowled out for 77 in Cuttack in 2013. Charlotte Edwards, the current England coach, was opening the batting for England then, while Kapp and Tryon played for South Africa.