by Danni Wyatt-Hodge celebrated becoming the first Englishwoman to make 3,000 runs in T20 internationals with a total of 78 from 45 balls, while Nat Sciver-Brunt made a third consecutive half-century, as the England sealed the T20 series with a 36-run and win.
England have accumulated a colossal total of 204 points against the finalists at October’s World Cup – only the fourth time they have passed 200 in this format – and victory in the series will contribute in a go some way to restoring confidence among a group of players battered by harsh criticism of their own premature exit from the World Cup.
Captain Heather Knight said she was “really happy” to get the win: “This is what we stand for as a batting group. Nat and Danni showed their experience, continuing to be aggressive and attack.
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“It was an incredible surface, I wish I could have played there every week. When we get those kinds of conditions, the game is there to contend, and a series win is what we came to do.
But England were helped by a distinctly average South African fielding, which included dropping Wyatt-Hodge on nine and 29, and Sciver-Brunt on 25, and their own bowling was not too penetrative, with Sophie The usually metronomic Ecclestone conceded 40 runs from his four overs.
Annerie Dercksen was released after being bowled by a no-ball from Lauren Filer, and although Sarah Glenn saw her out in the next over – finishing with four for 20 – South Africa smashed 33 runs in the two last overs. England may have won comfortably, but that comfort was based on the weight of their runs rather than their efforts on the field.
England had been in trouble at 15 for two in the second over, as Ayanda Hlubi made up for Sunday’s misguidedness by taking two wickets in three balls – Sophia Dunkley bagging another duck, placing herself inside her own stumps. But Wyatt-Hodge responded by driving viciously down the field to reach his 3,000-run milestone, drawing repeated boundaries on his favored scoring region and slamming Nonkululeko Mlaba over the over for six. Once a small player in England’s T20 team who had to deal with changes up and down the order, Wyatt-Hodge, 33, has transformed into one of their most consistent players; at Benoni, she officially became their most prolific.
Wyatt-Hodge was bowled by a yorker from Nadine de Klerk in the 13th over, but Sciver-Brunt continued to pile on, before Amy Jones hit consecutive boundaries in a final appearance that tipped the total above 200.
