England took another step towards the semi-finals at the Women’s T20 World Cup with a strong win over South Africa.

After an opening win over Bangladesh on a slow surface, England’s spin quartet again made good use of a turning pitch in Sharjah as they strangled the South Africa batters. Sophie Ecclestone led the way with figures of 2/15 with Linsey Smith, Charlie Dean and Sarah Glenn once more impressing in support roles, limiting South Africa to 124/6 despite late hitting from Marizanne Kapp and Annerie Dercksen.

It never looked likely to be enough, despite a sluggish outfield, and Danni Wyatt-Hodge (43) ensured a solid platform was laid, eschewing her more expansive strokeplay to manage the chase well. The star turn with the bat came, though, fron Nat Sciver-Brunt, cruising to an unbeaten 48 to guide her side home to a second win from two games. England top Group B with games against Scotland and the West Indies to come.

Re-live all of the action from Sharjah in the blog below:

England vs South Africa - Women’s T20 World Cup LIVE

• England won their World Cup opener against Bangladesh

• South Africa win the toss and bat first

• South Africa put on 124 for 6 from their 20 overs

• Wicket! Bouchier out lbw for 8! - England 16-1 [4.3]

• Wicket! Capsey out for 19! - England 50-2 [8.5]

• Wicket! Wyatt-Hodge out for 43! - England 114-3 [18]

• England win by seven wickets!

England captain Heather Knight reacts to a ‘controlled’ victory

18:10 , Harry Latham-Coyle

“I’m really pleased. That was a really controlled win. The pitch was slightly better than the other day, but we controlled that chase brilliantly. Nat had a cool, calm head, and Danni as well - that partnership was outstanding to watch.

“The girls bowled outstandingly again. Sophie was back to her best, and she seemed to get a little bounce on that wicket, which was strange - she is the only one out who does out there.

“You could see Danni getting frustrated out there - she’s not used to scoring at a strike rate of 100. But she did it brilliantly, that was a proper partnership. The way they ran between the wickets, it was a proper job. We don’t play until Sunday, so it’s quite a good break, time to get away and explore Dubai. A few are going out on the golf course tomorrow...”

And here’s beaten skipper Laura Wolvaardt

18:07 , Harry Latham-Coyle

“Obviously we are very disappointed,” the South Africa captain says. “10-20 more runs with the bat and it could have been interesting, and we didn’t take our chances in the field, either.

“I didn’t feel it was as slow as the first couple of games here. We were talking about reaching the 140 mark, but we had that period after the powerplay where we lost our way a bit. The next two are must win games for us.”

Sophie Ecclestone is the player of the match

17:59 , Harry Latham-Coyle

And tells Sky Sports: “It’s quite exciting to keep breaking records. I keep it simple and try to enjoy my cricket, make sure I’ve got a smile on my face.

“It’s always great to go against the world’s best. Getting [Laura Wolvaardt] and [Marizanne Kapp] out were important wickets, so I was quite happy with that.

“We’ve got four spinners in the team and we are all high-class players, we work as a unit. I’m lucky to be alongside them. Obviously conditions are so different out here, so we’ve adapted really well.”

England beat South Africa by seven wickets

17:57 , Harry Latham-Coyle

Very, very impressive from Nat Sciver-Brunt, guiding England home with an unbeaten 48 and looking a class apart on a sluggish pitch. England take another significant step towards a semi-final place.

England win by seven wickets!

17:53 , Sonia Twigg

Khaka will bowl the final over, four runs needed from just six deliveries.

The first is a dot, four needed from five.

Sciver-Brunt goes over extra cover to finish it for England and claim the victory!

They do so with four balls to spare.

England 121-3 (19) Sciver-Brunt 44, Knight 0, De Klerk 1-23 (4)

17:52 , Sonia Twigg

11 needed from two overs and Heather Knight will hope to see them through, alongside Sciver-Brunt.

Sciver-Brunt capitalises on fine leg being in the ring and tucks the ball away for a boundary along the deck.

Sciver-Brunt fetches one from a long way outside the off stump and paddles to leg for a single.

Four runs are needed from the final over.

Wicket! Wyatt-Hodge out for 43! England 114-3 (18) Sciver-Brunt 38, Mlaba 1-22 (4)

17:47 , Sonia Twigg

Mlaba will bowl her last over. She starts too straight but it only brings a single.

A full toss and Wyatt-Hodge send it into the offside, the ball goes straight through the fielder and brings England a very welcome boundary.

Wyatt-Hodge has gone! Mlaba tosses the ball up and Wyatt-Hodge comes down the wicket and is stumped!

England 107-2 (17) Wyatt-Hodge 38, Sciver-Brunt 36, De Klerk 1-17 (3)

17:43 , Sonia Twigg

De Klerk comes back on and almost has a breakthrough! Wyatt-Hodge hits it high and straight through the hands of the jumping fielder on the edge of the ring on the off side.

Wolvaardt did get her fingertips to the ball but couldn’t hold on. Sciver-Brunt then sweeps the ball away for four, and every run above a run a ball just eases the pressure on these two out there.

Six runs from the over, exactly the required rate.

England 101-2 (16) Wyatt-Hodge 37, Sciver-Brunt 31, Mlaba 0-15 (3)

17:39 , Sonia Twigg

Mlaba bowls a full toss that Wyatt-Hodge hits high and short of the fielder, the batters come back for two, and that takes the required run rate to six an over from the last 4.5.

England move past 100, the partnership is up past 50 and they need 24 runs from 24 balls.

England 94-2 (15) Wyatt-Hodge 33, Sciver-Brunt 28, Kapp 1-17 (4)

17:35 , Sonia Twigg

Kapp returns for her final over, this might just be one for England to navigate without losing another wicket rather than trying to capitalise on.

Sciver-Brunt sweeps her to the boundary with power and that will help England as they inch towards the required total.

Sciver-Brunt times another one to the leg side boundary, that has been hit expertly.

England 82-2 (14) Wyatt-Hodge 32, Sciver-Brunt 17, Tryon 0-25 (3)

17:30 , Sonia Twigg

Tryon will have her third. She has been the most expensive of the South Africa bowlers, and England don’t find the singles and twos hard to come by against her.

There was one that jagged in and almost caused an issue for Sciver-Brunt, just jabbing her bat down at the right moment.

England 76-2 (13) Wyatt-Hodge 31, Sciver-Brunt 12, Luus 0-10 (1)

17:27 , Sonia Twigg

Sune Luus comes into the attack and Sciver-Brunt hits a big top-edge but there’s no one underneath it.

Wyatt-Hodge does exactly the same thing and again it falls safe, but she follows it up with a four coming down the ground and hitting over the top.

Wyatt-Hodge slog-sweeps and that has almost been caught! Brits was almost there, but it just bounced in front of her.

England 66-2 (12) Wyatt-Hodge 24, Sciver-Brunt 9, De Klerk 1-11 (2)

17:23 , Sonia Twigg

De Klerk, who got the wicket of Alice Capsey is into her second over, and Wyatt-Hodge and Sciver-Brunt are struggling to keep the scoreboard ticking along.

They’re dealing in singles, and just four of them from the over.

England 62-2 (11) Wyatt-Hodge 22, Sciver-Brunt 7, Khaka 0-17 (3)

17:20 , Sonia Twigg

Khaka will bowl her third, and England are slightly struggling to get the ball away here. The powerplay was slow and it remains to be seen how much that will hurt their chances.

Sciver-Brunt brings up the boundary with a punch through backward point. She tries to follow it up with a paddle, but misses the ball which was not far away from hitting the stumps.

Wyatt-Hodge goes big and over the top but it bounces short of the fielder.

England 55-2 (10) Wyatt-Hodge 21, Sciver-Brunt 2, Mlaba 0-8 (2)

17:13 , Sonia Twigg

Sciver-Brunt sweeps away for another single.

Wyatt-Hodge tries the paddle, again the slow outfield comes into play and it’s stopped on the boundary.

Capsey out for 19! England 51-2 (9) Wyatt-Hodge 18, Sciver-Brunt 1, De Klerk 1-7 (1)

17:10 , Sonia Twigg

Time for a new bowler, and it will be De Klerk. One goes straight through Wyatt-Hodge and the keeper and will race away to the boundary.

England will not care where the runs come from. Wyatt-Hodge follows it up with another boundary up and over the off side.

England bring up their 50 after 8.4 overs. At this stage, South Africa had exactly the same score.

But Capsey has hit a delivery straight back to the bowler, it’s a slower ball and the 20-year-old just falls into the trap.

England 40-1 (8) Wyatt-Hodge 13, Capsey 18, Tryon 0-19 (2)

17:04 , Sonia Twigg

Capsey is on the charge, and has hit another four, again off Tryon.

She follows it up with a sweep, but on this occasion the ball is stopped on the boundary.

England 33-1 (7) Wyatt-Hodge 12, Capsey 12, Mlaba 0-4 (1)

17:00 , Sonia Twigg

Mlaba on for Kapp and Capsey goes for the paddle and just gets it over the keeper to bring another couple of runs.

Another paddle/reverse and Capsey misses as does the wicketkeeper and they manage to run through for byes.

England 28-1 (6) Wyatt-Hodge 11, Capsey 9, Tryon 0-12 (1)

16:56 , Sonia Twigg

Change of bowling and it will be Chloe Tryon. Wyatt-Hodge goes over the top and it was only just over the infield, and it only brings one run.

Wolvaardt got a finger-tip to it. Capsey sweeps the next one for four, and that’s a welcome boundary.

She follows it up with a second sweep to the boundary, this is just what England need. 12 runs from it.

Wicket! Bouchier out lbw for 8! England 16-1 (5) Wyatt-Hodge 8, Capsey 0, Kapp 1-5 (3)

16:52 , Sonia Twigg

Bouchier has been given out lbw but has reviewed the decision! Kapp celebrates believing she has England’s first breakthrough.

Bouchier hasn’t hit it and it’s umpire’s call so she will have to go but England retain their review.

Alice Capsey comes in at number three, and is dropped almost immediately! Capsey hits it slightly in the air.

Wicket maiden for Kapp.

England 16-0 (4) Bouchier 8, Wyatt-Hodge 8, Khaka 0-11 (2)

16:46 , Sonia Twigg

Khaka bowls another and again Wyatt sets off for a run first ball of the over. There’s a run out chance with a direct hit against Bouchier.

South Africa celebrate, but Bouchier is well in, and she follows it up with a tuck around the corner for another single.

Wyatt again tucks and runs just to keep the scoreboard moving. Wyatt-Hodge goes up and straight to bring her first boundary of the innings.

A much better over from England, eight runs from it.

England 8-0 (3) Bouchier 6, Wyatt 2, Kapp 0-5 (2)

16:41 , Sonia Twigg

Wyatt gets away for a single the first ball of the over, aided by a missfield.

Bouchier gets a good bat on a ball from Kapp, but plays it straight to the fielder.

Kapp gets another one that misses the outside edge of Bouchier’s bat by millimetres.

She breaks some of the tension by going big and over the top for the first boundary of the innings.

England 3-0 (2) Bouchier 2, Wyatt 1, Khaka 0-3 (1)

16:37 , Sonia Twigg

Khaka will bowl the second after Kapp’s maiden. England cannot leave it too long before they have to start putting runs on the board.

The ball swings heavily back into Wyatt-Hodge who fends the ball away to point. She taps into the leg side and they run a single for the first run of the innings after 1.2 overs.

Another inside edge off Bouchier will bring two runs.

England 0-0 (1) Bouchier 0, Wyatt-Hodge 0, Kapp 0-0 (1) need 125 runs to win

16:33 , Sonia Twigg

England are out in the middle with Bouchier and Wyatt-Hodge to open up.

Kapp is the opening bowler and Bouchier just defends the first one into the off side. The second almost brings a wicket, there isn’t the expected bounce and Bouchier nearly plays onto her stumps, the ball just glances onto her pads and behind.

Bouchier is half-tempted into playing one just outside the off stump, the ball is a bit too wide, but Kapp will be encouraged by that.

South Africa score 124 for six from their 20 overs

16:22 , Sonia Twigg

Here are some photos from the first innings:

Wicket! Sune Luus out for 1! South Africa 124-6 (20)

16:15 , Sonia Twigg

Final over and it will be bowled by Sciver-Brunt! Who takes a run out off the boot!

It’s driven back at her and rebounds off the bowler’s boot and into the stumps at the non-strikers end, that brings an end to Luus’ innings.

South Africa are going for this, but they can’t quite get hold of the ball. They manage to score a boundary, a slightly quicker ball is flicked through midwicket for four.

Another boundary, it’s an inside edge through the legs and that will bring a second lot of back to back boundaries.

10 runs from the final over, and South Africa have set England a chase of 125 to win.

Kapp out for 25! South Africa 114-5 (19) Dercksen 11, Luus 1, Ecclestone 2-15 (4)

16:10 , Sonia Twigg

Ecclestone bowls Kapp! Kapp swings and misses, there was no pace on that and it has hit half way up middle stump, that’s a big wicket for England as she was scoring quickly!

South Africa race back for a second, a big dive is needed, but England haven’t been as clinical in the field as they would like.

South Africa 1010-4 (18) Kapp 26, Dercksen 8, Smith 1-32 (4)

16:06 , Sonia Twigg

Dercksen comes to the crease, but Kapp will face Smith first and manages to get the ball away for a single to bring the new batter on strike and finally bring up the hundred after 17.1 overs.

Dercksen’s first ball is top-edged but falls safe, but on the final ball of the over she smashes the first six of the innings! Smith’s last over goes for 11 runs.

Tryon out for 2! South Africa 99-3 (17) Kapp 23, Dean 1-25 (4)

16:02 , Sonia Twigg

Dean starts her last over, and starts it well with a dot ball. Kapp again goes big and over the top and dispatches Dean straight back over her head for a boundary.

She follows it up with another boundary over deep midwicket, that’s back to back fours for the first time in the game.

Dean has a wicket! The ball just goes under the bat of Tryon and takes off the bails.

Wolvaardt out for 42! South Africa 89-3 (16) Kapp 14, Tryon 1, Ecclestone 1-11 (3)

15:58 , Sonia Twigg

Ecclestone is into her third over out of a maximum of four, and there’s a bit of turn.

Kapp goes for an innovative reverse paddle but cannot pick up a run for it. She goes up and over and it flies behind Amy Jones and will be well-stopped on the boundary to save a run.

Ecclestone strikes! Wolvaardt goes for a big pull shot and completely misses the ball which crashes into the stumps and brings Tryon to the crease.

South Africa 84-2 (15) Wolvaardt 42, Kapp 11, Sciver-Brunt 0-24 (3)

15:53 , Sonia Twigg

Sciver-Brunt will bowl her third. Kapp crunches the ball down the ground for a boundary.

She will know all of these bowlers so well having played in the Hundred since the start.

Kapp has injected a new life into this batting performance and lifted the scoring rate significantly.

11 runs from that over.

Wicket! Bosch out for 18! South Africa 75-2 (14) Wolvaardt 40, Kapp 3, Glenn 1-18 (4)

15:49 , Sonia Twigg

Bosch tries something different, she reverse sweeps for a boundary! The ball races away for four, but when she tries it for a second time, Glenn strikes and Bosch is bowled!

That does bring the dangerous Marizanne Kapp to the crease alongside Wolvaardt, and these two will want to accelerate the scoring rate now.

Kapp is off the mark straight away with a quickly run two that almost turned into a run out with both players stranded at one end. But again England rue a missed chance.

South Africa 67-1 (13) Wolvaardt 39, Bosch 13, Smith 1-21 (3)

15:45 , Sonia Twigg

Linsey Smith will bowl her third, and Bosch sweeps square towards cow corner, but it’s just two runs.

She paddles into the leg side for another single.

Still no boundaries have come off the bat in what feels like a very long time. But that was a bit more expensive, seven from it.

South Africa 60-1 (12) Wolvaardt 37, Bosch 9, Glenn 0-10 (3)

15:41 , Sonia Twigg

Glenn continues in this trial by spin and even coming down the pitch, Wolvaardt can only manage a single.

While Bosch is struggling with just seven runs from 18 deliveries, she adds another though paddling the ball up to long off.

Bosch improvises, coming across the stumps to try and hook down towards long leg, but again there is no boundary.

South Africa 56-1 (11) Wolvaardt 35, Bosch 7, Ecclestone 0-7 (2)

15:38 , Sonia Twigg

Ecclestone has a big shout for lbw, there’s nothing given from the umpire, and after a discussion Heather Knight thinks better of it.

The batters are really struggling to score runs, that over goes for just two, which is good for England.

South Africa 513-1 (10) Wolvaardt 35, Bosch 6, Glenn 0-6 (2)

15:33 , Sonia Twigg

Glenn is frustrating Bosch, the first three balls of her second over are dots. Halfway through the over it has been 23 balls since the last boundary.

Just the three runs from the over, largely aided by a poor throw in from the deep scuppering a run out chance.

That will be drinks and the half way mark. This pitch is difficult to score on but England have done well so far.

South Africa 51-1 (9) Wolvaardt 32, Bosch 5, Dean 0-15 (3)

15:29 , Sonia Twigg

Dean is a bit wayward and Wolvaardt sweeps, its fumbled on the line but stopped from crossing the boundary.

The batters are just working the ball around for ones and twos, which England seem content to let them do.

Sophie Ecclestone has dropped Bosch! That’s the third drop and England need to step up their game here.

South Africa 45-1 (8) Wolvaardt 28, Bosch 3, Glenn 0-3 (1)

15:26 , Sonia Twigg

Time for a bit of leg spin from Sarah Glenn. England have kept their bowlers rotated pretty much constantly, not allowing the batters to settle against anyone.

There are four spinners, but they all offer something different.

Three runs from the over, England are turning the screw slightly here.

South Africa 42-1 (7) Wolvaardt 26, Bosch 2, Ecclestone 0-5 (1)

15:23 , Sonia Twigg

Ecclestone comes into the attack for the first time as soon as the powerplay restrictions have been lifted.

Wolvaardt is still at the crease and that will be a bit of a concern for England.

She starts with a fairly tidy first over, just five runs from it.

Wicket! Tazmin Brits out for 13 South Africa 37-1 (6) Wolvaardt 22, Bosch 1, Smith 1-14 (2)

15:21 , Sonia Twigg

Wicket! Brits is out the first ball of the final over of the powerplay!

Brits decides to go up into the air and it was straight to Gibson who held on.

Wolvaardt hits a four to ease the pressure.

South Africa 31-0 (5) Wolvaardt 17, Brist 13, Dean 0-9 (2)

15:16 , Sonia Twigg

Brits scoops it going for the sweep and it’s been dropped by Sarah Glenn! It just fell out as she landed, but that’s a second drop already from England.

Another one from Charlie Dean that skids through and only narrowly missed the stumps. The final ball of the over is a riskier shot, hit up over the infield, but again it won’t reach the boundary and brings just two runs.

South Africa 28-0 (4) Wolvaardt 15, Brits 12, Sciver-Brunt 0-14 (2)

15:13 , Sonia Twigg

A new end for Sciver-Brunt who comes back into the attack. Brits tries to sweep the ball away but just manages to pick up a single.

Wolvaardt picks up another boundary, picking up the length early.

South Africa 20-0 (3) Wolvaard 9, Brits 10, Dean 0-6 (1)

15:10 , Sonia Twigg

After one over of seam, Nat Sciver-Brunt will be replaced by Charlie Dean.

The first three balls of her over is quite tight, cramping Brits for room. But she manages to ease the pressure with a boundary from the final ball of the over.

South Africa 14-0 (2) Wolvaardt 9, Brits 4, Smith 0-8 (1)

15:07 , Sonia Twigg

Wolvaardt does pick up her first boundary the first ball of Linsey Smith’s over, opening up well through extra cover and that one will cross the rope!

Brits works one away and adds another couple. England appeal for lbw against Brits, but the umpire is unmoved and Knight chooses not to appeal.

South Africa 6-0 (1) Wolvaardt 4, Brits 1, Sciver-Brunt 0-6 (1)

15:03 , Sonia Twigg

Nat Sciver-Brunt will open for England, who have kept the same team with the four spinners rather than opting for the additional seamer in Lauren Bell.

Amy Jones is standing up to the stumps, and the first ball is cut away by Wolvaardt and the throw is terrible allowing South Africa to get back for three. That ball just stopped before going over the boundary rope.

Drop! The next ball gets a bit of extra bounce and has been dropped by Knight at slip! It was a thick edge but she got almost a full hand to it.

England vs South Africa

14:56 , Sonia Twigg

The anthems are done and the match is about to get underway

England vs South Africa

14:53 , Sonia Twigg

Time for the national anthems, starting with South Africa.

England vs South Africa

14:52 , Sonia Twigg

England and South Africa are preparing to come out onto the field in Sharjah for their second T20 World Cup match.

England vs South Africa

14:51 , Sonia Twigg

Heather Knight: “I would’ve had a bat, too. But we know the conditions pretty well now, I think it’ll play pretty much the same.

“We bowled brilliantly [against Bangladesh] so we’ll be looking to do the same and set the tone tonight. It was tricky to bat here the other night so we’ve had a chat about how we go about things, we still want to play our brand of cricket but adjust it to these conditions.

“We’re excited to get going, it’ll be a tough test for us. History won’t play into it, we know they’re a quality side but their opening game was played in different conditions. We’ll have to play our best cricket to win.

“Our team is unchanged.”

How to watch England vs South Africa

14:45 , Sonia Twigg

England vs South Africa is due to start at 3pm BST on Monday 7 October at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

How can I watch it?

Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on Sky Sports Cricket, with coverage on the channel from 2.30pm BST. Subscribers can stream the action via Sky Go.

If you want to stream major sporting events while you are travelling or watching from abroad you’ll need a VPN. Get the best VPN deals in the UK. Viewers using a VPN need to make sure that they comply with any local regulations where they are, and also with the terms of their service provider.

Is England v South Africa on TV today? Channel, start time and how to watch T20 World Cup game online

14:40 , Sonia Twigg

England will look to build on an encouraging start to the Women’s T20 World Cup as they face a tricky test against South Africa.

The spinners were, predictably, to the fore in England’s opener against Bangladesh, with Linsey Smith excelling.

South Africa should provide a sterner test of Heather Knight’s side having beaten them at the semi-final stage on home soil at the last edition of this tournament.

A classy half-century from Laura Wolvaardt carried South Africa to a ten-wicket victory over the West Indies in their first game in the United Arab Emirates.

Toss - South Africa will bat first

14:38 , Sonia Twigg

Wolvaardt said at the toss: “We are batting first because the pitch looks slow and we are hoping to get a total and then defend it.

“It was nice to start with a win in our first group game but this is a big game because the chance to go 2-0 in the competition gets us in a good position.

“What would we like to improve? We were pretty good in our first game without being perfect in all areas so it’s about trying to improve them.”

Toss - South Africa will bat first

14:34 , Sonia Twigg

South Africa win the toss and choose to bat first as Laura Wolvaardt calls tails and makes the right decision.

This could be a poor toss to lose for Heather Knight, three out of four matches at this tournament have been won by the side batting first.

Heather Knight prepared for T20 World Cup campaign to not be ‘sexy’

14:20 , Sonia Twigg

Skipper Heather Knight has warned that England Women’s T20 World Cup campaign may not always be “sexy” as they wrestle with the conditions in the United Arab Emirates.

Knight’s side launched their bid for glory with a 21-run Group B victory over Bangladesh on a tricky pitch in Sharjah, where the slow outfield compounded the problems for batters.

England were restricted to 118 for seven having won the toss and elected to bat, but while Knight admitted there was room for improvement, she was happy with that total at the halfway stage.

She told Sky Sports: “It wasn’t far off par but I think if we push up to about 135, 140, that’s going to be a really good score if we get on that type of wicket again.

Heather Knight prepared for T20 World Cup campaign to not be ‘sexy’

England prepared ‘to take fight’ to South Africa in crucial World Cup clash

14:10 , Sonia Twigg

Cape Town will be on the minds of both teams when England take on South Africa at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup – a year on from a dramatic semi-final.

On home soil last year, the Proteas women reached the final of the tournament for the very first time thanks to a six-run win over England at Newlands.

Now the teams meet again, this time in a Group B encounter, with both one win from one in the United Arab Emirates.

A second success would be a giant step towards qualification for the final four, and England are only too aware of how close it was last February.

England prepared ‘to take fight’ to South Africa in crucial World Cup clash

England won their opening game against Bangladesh

14:01 , Sonia Twigg

Linsey Smith starred with the ball as England launched their Women’s T20 World Cup campaign with a 21-run victory over Bangladesh.

Smith turned in figures of two for 11 from her four overs and played the significant role in the dangerous Nigar Sultana Joty’s run out as Heather Knight’s side limited the Bangladeshis to 97 for seven in the Group B showdown under the lights in Sharjah.

She and Charlie Dean each claimed two wickets to help successfully defend a target of 119 after Danni Wyatt-Hodge had scored 41 in a modest total of 118 for seven on a tricky pitch.

England won the toss and opted to bat, and opener Maia Bouchier enjoyed a reprieve when she was dropped by Rabeya Khan at point off the bowling of Marufa Akter on 16.

Spinner Linsey Smith impresses as England beat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup

England vs South Africa

12:06 , Sonia Twigg

Good afternoon and welcome to The Independent’s live build up and coverage of England’s second match of the Women’s T20 World Cup against South Africa in Sharjah.

Both sides won their opening match, and in the group not containing India and Australia, South Africa are likely to be England’s toughest test.