Rewind to February 2023. South Africa were up against it when they were scheduled to take on England in the T20 World Cup semifinal. Until that day, they had never reached a final of the World Cup. Fast forward to October 2025 and the South Africans have now been to two finals. They did eventually beat England in that home semifinal in 2023 before toppling the mighty Australians in the semifinal last year. They went on to lose both the finals but the fact that they got that far was certainly a step in the right direction.
On Wednesday (October 29), they will be eyeing their third straight final in a World Cup, albeit their first one in the ODI format. And yet again, like it was the case in 2023, it’s the mighty England who stand in their path. It’s the same team that absolutely mauled them in their first game of the tournament. And quite ironically, this rematch will also be held at the same venue. South Africa certainly have to battle many demons in this clash to take one step closer to the title.
Even though they did win five successive games in the tournament, their batting performances against England and Australia either side of those wins highlighted the need to step up against top-tier opposition in the ODI format despite their recent success in T20Is. England literally took just a little over 20 overs to bowl them out for 69 and Australia shot them out for 97. The pressure will firmly be on their batters now to ensure they don’t fold in meek fashion for a third time with so much on the line.
If South Africa can look back at history for some inspiration, England can do the same given they beat the same team at the same stage in the last two 50-over World Cup editions – in 2017 and 2022. While they have been stretched by different teams in different scenarios this edition, England still lost only one game so far – to arch-rivals Australia. England have been to the finals six times so far, unlike their opponents and they will bank on that experience as well to come out on top in a big clash. If games are indeed won on paper, they will fancy another crack at Australia in the title clash to deny them an eighth title and close the gap in their storied rivalry, having won the trophy four times themselves. But for now, it is indeed one step at a time.
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