BLOEMFONTEIN: England women recorded their first Test victory in a decade with their biggest victory by margin of runs after defeating South Africa by 286 runs here at Mangaung Oval on Tuesday.
England, who won their last Test against Australia in 2014, bowled out South Africa for just 64 – the lowest total in the format – in the second innings after setting a target of 351.
Pace bowler Lauren Bell took a career-best 4-49 in the first innings and then improved with 4-27 in the second.
Sophie Ecclestone and Lauren Filer also joined Bell to help England eliminate South Africa in just 19.4 overs and seal victory within three days.
“It’s incredible: my first Test win and we’ve worked really hard as a team over the last three days,” said Bell, the best player on the field.
“It’s a work in progress, but performances like this give me a lot of confidence that I’m heading in the right direction. The other stitchers and spinners did a great job. It was a team effort.”
England opted to bat first and declared their first innings at 395/9 on day one, with debutant Maia Bouchier (126) and veteran Nat Sciver-Brunt (128) stitching together an excellent 174-run partnership.
In the second innings, England started with a lead of 114 runs and finished with 236 in total, thanks to captain Heather Knight, who played a spirited knock of 90.
“It’s good to spend some time in the middle. It’s not the most fluent. Obviously, getting the game out of the Saffas’ (South African bowlers) reach and getting some time into their legs was important,” Knight said.
Nonkululeko Mlaba was the pick of the South African bowlers with 10 for 157 in the match, including a six-wicket haul in the second innings.
