ICC Women’s World Cup 2017: England vs South Africa, 5 things that England did right to win the semi-final

#3 Playing out Dane van Niekerk

Dane van Niekerk had had a brilliant World Cup but went wicketless today

Coming into the semifinal, South African captain Dane van Niekerk had been in superb form with the ball. She had already picked up 15 wickets in seven matches and had the opposition batswomen on their hunches.

On more than one occasion, Van Niekerk had stood up and almost turned the match in favour of her team almost single-handedly. Presumably, the entire team looks at her whenever they need a miracle of sorts. Today, though, she had an off day with the ball as the English batswomen played her out with ultimate caution.

They did not take any unnecessary risks against the leg-break bowler and waited for the bad balls to score the boundaries. It turned out to be a winning tactic for the English team as Van Niekerk went wicketless in her five overs while giving away 25 runs.