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Preview: Southern Stars face England

It's a rematch of the 2014 final as heavyweights meet in World T20 semi-final in Delhi

The overview

A spot in the World T20 final will be on the line when the Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars and England meet in a semi-final clash at Delhi's Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium on Wednesday.

The fierce rivals came into the tournament as the two top-ranked teams, but Australia's group stage loss to New Zealand means they will meet one round earlier than many may have expected.

WATCH: Bench banter: The Villani-Ferling bowl-off

Neither team has advanced through the group stages in entirely convincing fashion.

After a slow start with a scare against South Africa and a loss to New Zealand, Australia produced two emphatic wins to seal a semi-final berth.

Quick Single: Stars top order clicking at right time: Mott

England started with what coach Mark Robinson dubbed a "six out of 10" victory over Bangladesh, followed by two very close calls against India and West Indies in Dharamshala.

However, captain Charlotte Edwards says her team are not reading much into the close calls, given the difficult Dharamshala wicket, and believes their fourth match against Pakistan was their best of the tournament to date.

Southern Stars skipper Meg Lanning is expecting a tight contest.

"England are unbeaten in this tournament and finished on top, while we finished second," Lanning said on Tuesday.

"It's difficult to say who is the favourite, in World Cups our matches against England are always close and a very tough contest.

"We always look forward to playing against England because of the rivalry that's been built up over a long period of time."

The teams

Australia made one change for the clash against Ireland, resting Erin Osborne – who is managing a split webbing injury in her bowling hand – and bringing in young left-arm quick Lauren Cheatle in her place.

However Osborne is expected to be fit for Wednesday's clash and given the success of spinners Kristen Beams and Jess Jonassen at shutting down Ireland's batters, she is likely to return to round out the spin attack.

The fast outfield at Delhi's Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium leaves little room for error from the faster bowlers, so teenager Cheatle may make way.

England made several changes for their last round clash with Pakistan. Vice-captain Heather Knight sat out due to illness, replaced by allrounder George Elwiss, but Knight will return for the semi-final.

Off-spinner Lauren Marsh – who had only arrived in India a couple of days earlier as an injury replacement for Danielle Hazell – came in for slow left-armer Rebecca Grundy and made an immediate impact, with career-best figures of 3-12.

Given her impact, she may retain her place in the side.

Possible Australia XI: Elyse Villani, Alyssa Healy (wk), Meg Lanning (c), Ellyse Perry, Alex Blackwell, Jess Jonassen, Beth Mooney, Erin Osborne, Rene Farrell, Megan Schutt, Kristen Beams

Possible England XI: Charlotte Edwards (c), Tammy Beaumont, Sarah Taylor (wk), Heather Knight, Natalie Sciver, Lydia Greenway, Dani Wyatt, Katherine Brunt, Jenny Gunn, Anya Shrubsole, Laura Marsh

WATCH: Delhi base a big advantage: Mott

The contest

Given the strength of the top batters in each side and the fact the Delhi deck appears to have few demons, a score of at least 140 is likely to be needed by the team batting first. In order to achieve that, Australia will be relying on their top order including skipper Meg Lanning, allrounder Elyse Perry and the in-form Elyse Villani to fire, while for England, captain Edwards and the classy Sarah Taylor pose major threats, despite the latter's disappointing run in the tournament to date.

The history

Already fierce rivals, Australia and England have plenty of history in World T20 events.

England knocked the Southern Stars out in the semi-final of the inaugural tournament in 2009, but since then the bragging rights have largely been Australia's, defeating England in both the 2012 and 2014 finals.

In Sri Lanka in 2012, the Southern Stars sealed a thrilling four-run win on the final ball, before romping to a six-wicket victory in Bangladesh two years ago.

England have the most recent T20 bragging rights against the Southern Stars, however, having claimed last year's T20 portion of the multi-format Women's Ashes 2-1.

Despite Australia's record against England in World T20 finals, Lanning said the past would mean little when the teams step onto the pitch on Wednesday night.

"We're very confident as a team heading in, but when you're in a new country and new conditions it's a bit difficult to worry about what's happened before.

"We're just focusing on what's going to happen in this tournament and how we're playing now.

"We're very confident after the last couple of games that we're playing really good cricket. If we can do that again against England, that will really put us in a good position."

The forecast

A hot day with clear skies and a maximum temperature of 36 degrees is tipped, with humidity at 30 per cent. The match starts at 2.30pm (8pm AEDT) local time, to the conditions will again be testing for the players.

The following

Watch the broadcast live on Fox Sports from 8pm AEDT (check local guides).

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