Sophie Ecclestone stars as England thrashed Proteas by 38 runs

• England Women’s team defeated South African women in the T20I series.
• Ecclestone was the main highlight of the last match.
• South Africa lost all-rounder Kapp ahead of Commonwealth Games 2022.

Star spinner Sophie Ecclestone dominated with both bat and ball as England defeated South Africa by 38 runs in Derby to secure a 3-0 series sweep.

Is Sophie Ecclestone a batter or bowler?

The Cricket world is well aware of Ecclestone’s prowess with the ball, but on Monday, she displayed some clean hitting with the bat as she helped England set a large score of 176/6 at Derby with an unbeaten 33 off just 12 deliveries.

Ecclestone hammered four fours and two sixes during an entertaining cameo that resulted in her greatest T20I score. She followed that up by claiming two key wickets with the ball to ensure South Africa fell short in their run chase.

England utilised seven bowlers to defeat the Proteas, with teenage pacer Issy Wong (1/40) producing the delivery of the match to clean bowl South Africa opener Lara Goodall in the opening over of the chase.

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WONGI!!!!

Scorecard & Videos: https://t.co/qeVdQ3uMn1

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 #ENGvSA 🇿🇦 | @Wongi95 pic.twitter.com/eo1Px0wpPw

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 25, 2022

Proteas fought hard

The Proteas survived the early loss of Goodall to form two useful partnerships, with No. 3 batsman Tazmin Brits leading the way with an elegant fifty.

But the Proteas were destined to struggle without Marizanne Kapp and Sune Luus, as Ecclestone took the crucial wicket of Laura Wolvaardt for 13 and the necessary run rate continued to increase.

Mignon du Preez and Chloe Tryon attempted to score over the last overs, but Freya Kemp’s (2/18) deception of the British batsmen in the 18th over of the run chase ensured victory for the hosts.

England finish the job 👊

Sophie Ecclestone claimed Player of the Match honours as the hosts registered a 3-0 T20I series win over South Africa!#ENGvSA scorecard: https://t.co/xHiP1aVdXB pic.twitter.com/AbDIfDNwRX

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— ICC (@ICC) July 25, 2022

Now focus on Commonwealth Games

The series was far closer than the 3-0 scoreline to England initially suggests, and both teams are optimistic about their chances of winning gold at the Commonwealth Games tournament, which begins this week in Birmingham.

England possesses an abundance of depth and will be viewed as a major contender for the gold medal, given that they are playing at home and key players such as Nat Sciver, Danni Wyatt, and Ecclestone are in good form.

South Africa may have to pursue gold without Kapp (for family reasons), but they still have enough talent in their lineup to pose a threat to any opponent.

A brilliant start to the summer from this team! ❤️

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 #ENGvSA 🇿🇦 pic.twitter.com/BrkYUz5d7d

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 25, 2022

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