Bristol, United Kingdom: South Africa captain Dane van Niekerk won the toss and elected to bat first against England in the opening semi-final of the Women’s World Cup at Bristol on Tuesday.

England coach Mark Robinson decided to stick with the same team that beat the West Indies by 92 runs in their previous match, which left the tournament hosts top of the group stage.

It was the first time in five matches that Van Niekerk had won the toss, and, despite playing on green-tinged pitch last used on July 9, she was quick to put England in to field with bright sunshine beaming down.

South Africa, the lowest ranked ODI team to reach the knockouts of the World Cup, made one change to the side that lost to Australia three days ago by 59 runs, Chloe Tryon replacing Masabata Klass.

Teams: 

England

Lauren Winfield, Tammy Beaumont, Sarah Taylor (wkt), Heather Knight (capt), Nat Sciver, Fran Wilson, Katherine Brunt, Jenny Gunn, Laura Marsh, Anya Shrubsole, Alex Hartley

South Africa

Laura Wolvaardt, Lizelle Lee, Trisha Chetty (wkt), Mignon du Preez, Marizanne Kapp, Chloe Tryon, Dane van Niekerk (capt), Sune Luus, Shabnim Ismail, Ayabonga Khaka, Moseline Daniels

Toss: South Africa win and bat first

Umpires: Gregory Brathwaite (WIS), Christopher Brown (NZL)

TV umpire: Paul Wilson (AUS)

Match referee: Steve Bernard (AUS)