ENG-W vs SA-W | Momentum Proteas all set to play the first Test match after 2014 in Taunton against England

South African women will play their first Test match after 2014. They played their last Test match in India in Mysore, where they lost the Test match by an innings and 34 runs. This South African squad touring England has many potential Test debutants as only four players from the current squad – Marizanne Kapp, Lizelle Lee, Chloe Tryon, and Trisha Chetty played the last Test against India. 

South Africa's loss against India happened because of lower and middle-order collapse in both the innings. They were playing a competitive game, but a lack of concentration as a unit cost the match to South Africa. Hence, getting an opportunity to play this format after an eight-year gap, South Africa will try to implement their learnings from the Mysore Test.

Hilton Moreeng, South Africa's coach said. "It showed what a lack of concentration can do and what losing a session does - how critical that can be. Those who were part of it understand what happened and it's now an opportunity to show they can put it right against a team that has been playing consistently in this format."

As most of the squad is new to this format, Moreeng believes that experienced players will be pivotal in the batting line-up. The South African camp had anticipated a Test match coming soon which is why a camp was organised for the players where most of them were introduced to the red ball and played three-day or four-day games to get a better understanding of the format. According to Moreeng, batters are taking more time to adjust to the conditions rather than the bowlers but he feels that the batters have shown improvement and are able to understand what is required in the middle.

South Africa also played a warm-up match against England-A, where Laura Woolvardt scored her first red ball ton. As the match will be played with the Duke ball, it might favour the seam-heavy South African side as this kind of ball will provide them excessive swing. Although Ismail and Khaka, two of their most experienced bowlers were rested for the warm-up match, Bosch [3/17] and Sekhukhune [2/27] bowled well in the game and showed how experienced their bowling unit is.

Moreeng highlighted that Test cricket can be exhausting for the body as it requires the physical and mental capacity to understand the game and as most of the squad is new to the format, the girls are excited to play the Test match.

Match details:

Match: one-off Women's Test match

Venue: County Ground, Taunton

Date and time: 27-30 June 2022, 3:30 PM IST

Squads

England: Heather Knight (C), Emily Arlott, Tammy Beaumont, Lauren Bell, Kate Cross, Alice Davidson-Richards, Freya Davies, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Amy Jones, Emma Lamb, Nat Sciver, Travelling reserve: Issy Wong

South Africa: Anneke Bosch, Trisha Chetty, Nadine de Klerk, Lara Goodall, Shabnim Ismail, Sinalo Jafta, Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka, Lizelle Lee, Suné Luus[C], Nonkululeko Mlaba, Tumi Sekhukhune, Andrie Steyn, Chloé Tryon, Laura Wolvaardt