Danni Wyatt went unsold in the inaugural WPL auction; the England opener smashed 59 from 33 balls in record-setting win over Pakistan on Tuesday - watch England's T20 World Cup semi-final versus South Africa live on Sky Sports Cricket on Friday, coverage from 12.30pm
Friday 24 February 2023 06:18, UK
England opener Danni Wyatt says she is focused on winning the Women's T20 World Cup with England and keen to put the "heartbreak" of missing out on a Women's Premier League deal behind her.
England face hosts South Africa in the semi-final stage on Friday, hoping to secure a spot in Sunday's final, and Wyatt comes into the contest in good form, having hit a brisk 59 off 33 balls as England posted a T20 World Cup-record score of 213-5 in their 114-run thrashing of Pakistan on Tuesday.
Wyatt shared in a 74-run partnership with Nat Sciver-Brunt (81no off 40 balls), who continued her own sparkling form for the tournament with a second successive half century.
Sciver-Brunt was sold for £320,000 in the first WPL auction earlier this month - the joint-highest price among overseas players for the Indian-based competition - while Wyatt surprisingly went unsold, but the 31-year-old batter was full of praise for her team-mate.
"I don't think there's anything she can't do - she's hitting the ball like a beach ball at the minute," Wyatt said of Sciver-Brunt.
"I love batting with Nat. She's very smart, very adaptable and hopefully she can carry her form into the finals with some big runs over the next couple of games.
"She is as cool as a cucumber, our Nat, nothing fazes her. Even when she got her big [WPL] pay packet the other day. Everyone really looks up to her."
As for her own disappointment on missing out on a WPL deal, Wyatt said: "It was a very heartbreaking couple of days.
"I was very disappointed, obviously, having been a part of the IPL exhibition matches... and I love playing cricket in India. It's one of the best places to play cricket.
"To not even have one bid was pretty heartbreaking, but that's life and my focus is purely on this World Cup now.
"The sun still comes up the next day."
She added: "The girls got around me, which is really nice. It's a credit to everybody in our squad - even the staff as well.
"Obviously some people got what they wanted, some people didn't. I was just so proud of the the way everyone handled it. I certainly felt a lot of love."
England go into Friday's semi-final as heavy favourites, having finished the group stage with a 100 per cent record and four wins in four. They have also won their last four meetings against South Africa in women's T20 internationals.
Wyatt, pleased with her contribution against Pakistan after a slow start to the tournament on a personal level, insists England will again look to play on the front foot and take the game to their hosts in Cape Town.
"T20 cricket is so up and down," she said. "Especially as an opener, it can be brutal at times.
"You've just got to believe in yourself, keep going and keep taking it to them. It can be easy, if you fail a few times, to go out there and just knock it around, but I said to myself to carry on being brave and get the team off to a good start.
"We have been given the license at the top of the order to go from ball one. We've got the depth in the order to allow us to do that as well - even if it's going to be tricky conditions, we're still going to keep going hard.
"Everyone is feeling really confident and, more importantly, really chilled. A semi-final, at the business end of the tournament, it's really important to be calm and smart about the way you're going to go out and play.
"We're all ready. These moments don't happen very often; you've got to really embrace these days, show the world what you can do and what will be, will be."
Meanwhile, South Africa captain Sune Luus says her team have "nothing to lose" as they look to book a place in a World Cup final for the first time - and on home soil.
While England breezed through to the knockout stages, South Africa needed a nervy victory over Bangladesh on Tuesday to book their berth.
"There is no pressure on us, we can go out and enjoy the moment and try and do our best," Luus told reporters.
"It was hard work to get here. We are still searching for that perfect game where all aspects click and work together."
Luus added: "They [England] play a very attacking brand but that can play to our advantage. Once they lose a wicket they keep playing aggressively so that creates an opportunity for us.
"We also need to play attacking cricket from the start of the game."
South Africa have won just three of their 23 international T20 fixtures against England, with the last of those coming in Perth at the most recent World Cup, three years ago.
They have been to the semi-finals of the last two 50-over World Cups and reached the last four in the previous T20 tournament in 2020. They have five semi-final appearances in total across the two World Cup formats without ever reaching a final.
"We have been on the opposite side too many times, we know how it feels [to lose at this stage]," Luus added. "That gives us enough motivation to go out there and just enjoy it with nothing to lose.
"We need to stay focused on the basics and do the simple things right. That will give us the best chance."
Watch England face South Africa in the Women's T20 World Cup semi-final, live on Sky Sports Cricket. Coverage gets under way from 12.30pm, with the first ball bowled at 1pm.
