Katherine Brunt upbeat on England T20 World Cup final chances despite South Africa defeat

Katherine Brunt remains hopeful England can reach the Women’s T20 World Cup final despite their defeat to South Africa in their opening group match.

South Africa won by six wickets with just two balls to spare in a thrilling encounter at the WACA in Perth on Sunday.

That leaves England needing to defeat World Cup newcomers Thailand in Canberra on Wednesday - live on Sky Sports - in order to get their tournament back on track.

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"It feels huge, definitely. I'd say this is the biggest tournament I've ever been a part of, it certainly feels that way leading up to what's to come," Brunt told Sky Sports News.

"Hopefully we do make it to [the final in] Melbourne, that's the end goal.

"Even if we don't, it's been a brilliant event to be part of. Just watching TV in your downtime, you can't miss it, it's right in your face.

"Hopefully it will be a massive success, [they] sell out the MCG, and hopefully we're there."

'Beaumont wasted down the order'

If they are to reach the final on March 8, changes will need to be made to the batting order, according to Sky Sports pundit Lydia Greenway.

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Tammy Beaumont has excelled at the top of the order over the last few years but has inexplicably been dropped down to No 6 or 7, a move that has left T20 World Cup winner Greenway baffled.

"There are critical moments in the game that need to be finished using those six, seven and eight roles but I think with Tammy Beaumont more so than Lauren Winfield, my sense is that she is potentially being wasted," Greenway told Sky Sports.

"She either has to be opening, which she's not going to do because Amy Jones and Danni Wyatt have taken those spots, so, for me, No 3 is the spot for Tammy Beaumont. Then you have Heather Knight and Nat Sciver.

"They're the players in the best form but also the best players of spin and we know that in the women's game, spin bowling is crucial. We saw against India that that was Australia's downfall because they couldn't manage to play Poonam Yadav effectively.

"Tammy Beaumont has to be facing more balls, statistically players coming in at seven, eight or nine will be facing seven balls as a maximum so to have her coming in that low down is a wasted position for me."

Hussain: England line-up confusing

Former England men's captain and fellow Sky Sports pundit Nasser Hussain agrees there is confusion over England's batting line-up.

"I am a bit unsure about England's tactics, to be honest, and I don't understand the batting line-up," Hussain said during the innings break in Perth on Sunday.

"Beaumont ended up at No 7 and Lauren Winfield at No 8. It's a well-known fact in T20 cricket that your No 7 bats six deliveries so you may as well have bowlers down there."

Knight: Every game is must-win after SA defeat

Heather Knight wants England to show their competitive mettle against Thailand.

"Every game is must-win for us from now," captain Knight said on icc-cricket.com.

"It's really important after the other night that we put in a really strong performance and come out fighting.

"This team has shown a history of that. When we've had a bad performance and haven't started so great, the way we've bounced back in the next game has been outstanding."

Watch England's second game in the T20 World Cup, against debutants Thailand, live on Sky Sports Cricket, Sky Sports Mix and Sky Sports Main Event from 3.30am on Wednesday.