On Thursday, England overpowered South Africa by 137 runs in the second semi-final to face Australia in the summit clash of ICC Women's World Cup 2022. However, England opener Danielle Wyatt admitted that there was a time in the tournament when she did not think the final was possible.
After facing three defeats in the opening half of the tournament, the defending champions displayed their mettle to secure a place in the final of the marquee tournament.
Wyatt's crucial 129-run knock and Sophie Ecclestone's dream spell helped England bulldoze over South Africa in the knockout game. The left-armer returned with a career-best figure of 6/36.
"I woke up this morning and wanted to contribute to a win today and that's what happened. I obviously got dropped a few times, but that's cricket and you've got to cash in on days like today so I'm really happy with how it went. Every game since that India game has been a knockout match. So today was like any other match that we've played in the last few games," Wyatt told Sky Sports.
"After those first three games, I didn't think this would be the case. We didn't think we would make the final after our start. We'll prepare well for the final and we obviously really want to win that trophy," she added.
Meanwhile, the England opener was awarded the 'Player of the Match' title for her fabulous knock at the crucial stage. She praised her fellow teammate, Ecclestone, who scalped a maiden international five-wicket haul in the ODIs.
"Sophie bowled exceptionally well again today. She's an absolute GOAT [Greatest of All Time], and I'm so chuffed for her. That's going to be the first of many five-fers. She was absolutely unplayable today, especially with that pace and dip and a bit of turn as well which she was getting," she concluded.
Notably, South Africa has fallen at the penultimate hurdle for a third time in recent tournaments after being knocked out of the 2017 World Cup semi-finals by the same opponents.