Records shatter as South Africa enter maiden ODI World Cup final

1 This is the first time that South Africa have qualified for an ODI World Cup final - men's or women's. The women's team had lost each of their three World Cup semifinals previously in 2000, 2017, and 2022, respectively. Previously, the South Africans (Men's/Women's) have played eight matches in ODI World Cups semis, where they lost seven and one was tied against Australia at Birmingham in the 1999 World Cup. This is the third consecutive final for South Africa women's team in World Cups (ODI and T20I combined).

They reached the final in the last two T20 World Cup editions. South Africa is the only team to make the final of each of the previous three ICC women's World Cups. They also became the sixth team to reach both the women's ODI and T20 World Cup finals, joining England, Australia, New Zealand, India, and the West Indies.

South Africa in semis in ODI WC (Men's/Women's)

Matches: 9

Won: 1

Lost: 7

Tied: 1 (vs AUS, 1999)

319 - South Africa's total against England in Guwahati is their highest total in ODI World Cups, surpassing the 312/9 in 40 overs against Pakistan, which they scored last week at Colombo. It is also their third-highest first innings total in Women's ODIs.

It is also the second-highest total in a knockout World Cup match behind 356/5 runs scored by Australia against England in the 2022 final. This effort is also the third-highest total against England in ODIs, after Australia's 356 and India's 333/5 at Canterbury in 2022.

Highest totals for South Africa Women in ODIs

169 runs Laura Wolvaardt scored against England in Guwahati is the highest individual score by a South African woman in World Cups and just the fourth World Cup hundred for South Africa. It's also the second-highest score by a captain in a World Cup match (after Belinda Clark's 229* in 1997) and the third-highest in World Cup knockout games. Her four sixes are the second-most in a knockout match, behind Harmanpreet Kaur's seven in the 2017 semifinal.

Laura Wolvaardt became the first captain to score a hundred in an ODI World Cup knockout match and the first to record two 150-plus scores in women's ODIs. She's also only the second batter to hit a World Cup knockout hundred against England, after Alyssa Healy's 170 in the 2022 final.

This was just the second instance in South Africa women's ODI history where the top two scorers were separated by 100-plus runs (124 today); the first also involved Wolvaardt (184* vs Sri Lanka, 2024). It was also the first women's World Cup match to feature both a 150-plus score and a five-wicket haul.

Highest individual scores in World Cup knockouts

171* - Harmanpreet Kaur vs AUS-W, 2017 SF

170 - Alyssa Healy vs ENG-W, 2022 Final

169 - Laura Wolvaardt vs ENG-W, 2025 SF*

148* - Nat Sciver-Brunt vs AUS-W, 2022 Final

5000-plus runs for Laura Wolvaardt - first South African and overall sixth to reach the milestone in the Women's ODIs. She is the youngest (26y 186d) and the second fastest to go there in terms of innings (117) after Smriti Mandhana (112 innings), and the third quickest in terms of balls faced (6832), behind Mandhana (5569 balls) and Suzie Bates (6182 balls).

Highest run-getters in Women's ODIs

10 Laura Wolvaardt scored her first in the World Cup hundred and overall 10th in ODIs - the joint fifth-most in the format. She reached the milestone in 117 innings, the slowest among the six batters with 10 or more ODI centuries. At the age of 26 years and 186 days, Laura Wolvaardt is the second-youngest woman to bring up 10 centuries in ODIs behind Meg Lanning (24y 345d). She scored her 13th 50-plus (in 23 innings) score in the ODI World Cups - the joint-most with Mithali Raj.

A 116-run opening stand between Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits is the eighth century partnership between these two in ODIs. Only three pairs have added more hundred stands in women's ODIs for any wicket. It is also their fifth-century partnership this year - the joint-most hundred stands in a calendar year for any wicket alongside Belinda Clark & Lisa Keightley ( in 2000) and Smriti Mandhana & Pratika Rawal (in 2025).

Most century stands in Women's ODIs (any wicket)

10 - Belinda Clark, Lisa Keightley (AUS-W)

9 - Suzie Bates, Amy Satterthwaite (NZ-W)

9 - Meg Lanning, Ellyse Perry (AUS-W)

8 - Tazmin Brits, Laura Wolvaardt (SA-W)*

0,0,0 scored by each of England's top three, which is the first time in their ODI history that all of their top three have been dismissed on duck in the same ODI innings. 1 run was the score for England Women at the fall of the third wicket - this is the joint-lowest total at the fall of 3rd wicket in a Women's ODI innings. Only twice previously has a team lost three wickets for just one run on board in Women's ODIs - New Zealand against Australia at WACA in 2005, and Sri Lanka against South Africa at Pretoria in the 2005 World Cup. Four England batters scored ducks - the joint-most for them in a World Cup game.

1/3 is the lowest score (entry point) after which a team has had a century fourth-wicket stand in ODIs - Men's or Women's. Alex Capsey and Nat Sciver-Brunt added a 107-run partnership. The previous lowest had come for India vs Australia in Chennai during the Men's World Cup 2023 - Virat Kohli and KL Rahul added 165 after the hosts had been reduced to 2/3 in their tournament opener. The previous lowest in Women's ODI has a hundred fourth-wicket stand was 12/3 by New Zealand (E Drumm, D Hockley added 116 runs) against Australia in 1997 at Sydney.

5/20 Marizanne Kapp's figure against England is the best bowling performance by a South African woman in World Cups. She's only the third bowler to take a five-wicket haul in a World Cup knockout, after Anya Shrubsole (6/46 in 2017) and Sophie Ecclestone (6/36 in 2022). It's also her second five-for in World Cups - a feat matched only by Lyn Fullston (AUS) and Shrubsole (ENG).

Marizanne Kapp became the third South African to claim a five-wicket haul in ODI World Cups, after Sune Luus (5/67 vs Australia, 2017) and her own 5/45 vs England in 2022. Her 5/20 today took her World Cup tally to 44 wickets - the most in tournament history, surpassing Jhulan Goswami's 43.

Most wickets in Women's ODI World Cups

125-run loss for England today is their second-heaviest defeat in Women's ODI World Cups, after a 126-run loss to Australia in 1988. It's also South Africa's first ODI win batting first against England since 2003.

31 sixes hit by South Africa Women this tournament - the most by any team in a Women's ODI World Cup. India sits second with 25. Overall, 110 sixes have been struck in the 2025 edition, just two short of the all-time record of 111 set in 2017.