Lauren Bell sweeps South Africa to win Test title for England England women's cricket team

England won the one-off Test in Bloemfontein comprehensively for 286 runs, beating South Africa by 64 runs in the second innings, their lowest score in a women's Test match.

It was England's first Test win in more than a decade – the last victory came against Australia in Perth in January 2014 – and Heather Knight's first as captain (she had previously hosted four a tie and two defeats).

Knight fell 10 runs short of her third Test century in the afternoon session, being caught lbw by Nonkululeko Mlaba, but the result will surely make her feel as happy as reaching a personal milestone – especially at the MCG. The Ashes Test is just six weeks away.

“We're going to Australia with a lot of confidence and belief in what the team is doing,” Knight said. “It's a really important tour for us and we've just come off the disappointment of the World Cup. To go away and lose just one game, win two white-ball series and win a Test is huge. effort.

South Africa fought hard in the first two games to bowl out England for 236, but the evening saw a shocking collapse.

Player of the match Lauren Bell added four more wickets to take her match tally to eight, starting South Africa by trapping LBW Laura Wolvaardt lbw Funeral Procession as she once again used her new swinging ball to great effect. “A performance like this gives me a lot of confidence that I'm moving in the right direction,” Bell said.

Less than two hours later, Bale ended the set and the game with a direct hit from midfield that knocked out Mhlaba. The fact that Mhlaba failed to land simply because she did not bother to ground her bat was a clear indication of the low morale in the South African camp.

It was a disappointing end to the day, with the left-arm spinner earlier becoming the first South African to take 10 wickets in the Women's Test – and the reason England collapsed on 54 The last 6 wickets of the match were lost. Marizanne Kapp was unable to bowl due to workload management and seamer Ayanda Hlubi was sidelined with a hip injury, but Mlaba bravely shouldered the burden. The problem was that by the time England were all out half an hour before tea, their lead had swelled to 350 runs: the highest success rate in the fourth innings of a Women's Test match was just 198.

Four South Africa batsmen dropped weight under pressure: in the absence of DRS, this put the spotlight firmly on the umpires. But perhaps the most controversial moment was Annerie Dercksen's apparently clean catch on Tammy Beaumont at short leg, with the umpire sending the decision upstairs, sparking widespread outrage of confusion. According to Knight, the referral was related to whether it was a pool ball, but South Africa coach Mandela Masingbi said he was confused by it: “There was no communication and I don't understand why. It's really weird.

The concern is that Cricket South Africa may review the results, lament the controversy and conclude that future women's Tests are not worth the risk. Masingbi, however, said he was “passionate” about the format: “DRS is above my pay grade but I will make sure there is something that exposes our players to more of the red ball.”

Regardless, England's raucous celebrations are testament to the fact that Test cricket is as important to women as it is to men. “The girls are absolutely excited,” Knight said. “What we did today was very special.”