Manchester, June 13 (IANS) Australia have won the toss and elected to bat against South Africa in their first match of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 at the Emirates Old Trafford on Saturday. The six-time champions enter the tournament as the world’s top-ranked T201 side and will be aiming to make a strong start under the leadership of new captain Sophie Molineux.

Meanwhile, South Africa, currently ranked fifth in the format, arrive with growing confidence as they continue to establish themselves among the elite teams in women’s cricket. The Proteas will once again be led by Laura Wolvaardt, who captains the side in her second consecutive T20 World Cup.

South Africa will hope to carry forward the momentum they have built over recent years and challenge one of the most dominant teams in the history of the competition.

Historically, Australia have enjoyed overwhelming success against South Africa in T20 internationals. The Australians have won nine of the 11 meetings between the two teams, while South Africa have managed just two victories.

After winning the toss, Australia skipper Sophie Molineux said,” We are going to have a bat. It would be good to get out there and put a score on the board. Really well. We have covered our warm-up matches and everything. It was probably just how our bowling is going to shape up. The pitch might suit her as well. It is, with it comes enormous responsibility.”

While after losing the toss, South Africa skipper Laura Wolvaardt said,” Don’t mind having a bowl first. We have a good record chasing, so we don’t mind. We have played a lot of good cricket, and hopefully it counts for something.”

Playing XIs:

Australia: Beth Mooney (WK), Georgia Voll, Phoebe Litchfield, Ellyse Perry, Ash Gardner, Georgia Wareham, Annabel Sutherland, Nicola Carey, Sophie Molineux (c), Kim Garth, Alana King.

South Africa: Laura Wolvaardt (C), Sune Luus, Annerie Dercksen, Nadine de Klerk, Marizanne Kapp, Chloe Tryon, Kayla Reyneke, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Shabnim Ismail, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Ayabonga Khaka.

–IANS

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