In the first semifinal of the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup, South Africa defeated England by 125 runs on Wednesday, turning the tables on the same opposition after they were bowled out for 69 against England at the ACA Stadium.

After destroying England with a clinical effort, South Africa advanced to their first-ever Women’s World Cup final. With an incredible 169 off 143 balls, captain Laura Wolvaardt spearheaded the attack and her batting will go down in World Cup legend.

With composure and accuracy, she reached her century off 115 balls before launching a late-innings assault in which she amassed 69 runs off her final 28 deliveries. In addition to being the highest score by a South African in a Women’s ODI World Cup, her innings, which included 20 fours and four sixes, helped the Proteas amass an incredible 319/7.

Marizanne Kapp’s first burst rattled England, who were pursuing a record target, and they were reduced to 1-3. England were bowled out for 194 in 42.3 overs as Marizanne, who had momentarily left the field due to cramping, returned to finish with 5-20 after taking five wickets.

Despite a short glimmer of optimism from Alice Capsey (50) and Nat Sciver-Brunt (64), England never fully bounced back from the early meltdown as they fell victim to South Africa’s unrelenting discipline and scoring pressure. As the ghosts of Bristol 2017 and Christchurch 2022 were buried, it was a night of atonement for South Africa.

Two of the Proteas’ greatest match winners, Marizanne and Laura, stepped up with performances that defined their careers. Now, South Africa can relax and watch Australia and India fight for a spot in the final on Sunday. After forcing Heather Knight to hack on to her stumps without bothering the scorers in a double-wicket maiden over, Marizanne castled Amy Jones through the gate for duck, giving South Africa a great start to their defense.

Laura opened up further by sweeping Sophie for four and then lofting Charlie for six in the midst of all of this, reaching her first World Cup hundred on her 115th delivery. She then flied and lofted Charlie for two fours after heaving and pulling Nat for six and four on successive balls.

After pulling Nat for four and then heaving her for six, Laura continued her assault. Pulling Linsey for six, then slog-sweeping and sweeping her for a hat-trick of fours, she increased her 150. Despite Laura’s miscued loft to long-on off Lauren, her outstanding innings and Chloe and Nadine’s towering shots made sure South Africa reached the 300-mark, with a massive 69 runs coming in the final five overs.

Brief scores:

South Africa 319/7 in 50 overs (Laura Wolvaardt 169, Tazmin Brits 45; Sophie Ecclestone 4-44, Lauren Bell 2-55) beat
England 194 all out in 42.3 overs (Nat Sciver-Brunt 64, Alice Capsey 50; Marizanne Kapp 5-20, Nadine de Klerk 2-24) by 125 runs