Nat Sciver-Brunt starred on her return from injury to lead England into their first T20 World Cup final in eight years following a 40-run win over South Africa at the Oval.Sciver-Brunt missed the last three matches of the group stage because she aggravated a left calf injury but a majestic 75 off 47 balls rescued England from 23 for three in front of a bumper 21,128 crowd.Heather Knight provided vital support with 58 off 47 deliveries as England’s old-stagers lifted them to 169 for five and although South Africa flew out of the traps in reply, they ran out of steam after the powerplay.The Proteas defeated England at the same semi-final stage in 2023 and last year’s 50-over World Cup but while Tazmin Brits made 51 off 45 balls, wickets fell at regular intervals as they were contained to 129 for eight, meaning the tournament hosts will take on Australia in Sunday’s final at Lord’s.England have won every World Cup they have staged, most recently their last triumph in the 50-over edition in 2017, although they were given a run for their money despite a comprehensive margin of victory.South Africa frontloaded their attack as wily seamers Marizanne Kapp and Shabnim Ismail shared the first seven overs to induce panic in England after they lost the toss on a pitch where scoring was initially tricky.Amy Jones cut to point and Danni Wyatt-Hodge, the tournament’s leading run-scorer, had her off-stump flattened by Kapp before Ismail had her second wicket when she got an lbw verdict over Alice Capsey, who seemed to be so flustered she did not review when an inside edge would have saved her.Kapp had the ball on a string in a masterful spell, conceding her only boundary when she was tucked through midwicket for four by Sciver-Brunt, who South Africa wasted both reviews on.It was easy to see why as Sciver-Brunt tucked into the change bowlers, regularly hitting the ball to the rope and showing few signs of any lingering vulnerability as she ran hard between the wickets alongside Knight.Three leg-side fours off Nadine De Klerk took Sciver-Brunt to a 35-ball fifty and Knight, invaluable to the rebuild, upped the ante when she needed to, slog-sweeping Ayabonga Khaka for six to bring up her half-century.Sciver-Brunt, whose recovery included undergoing magnetic resonance therapy in the past couple of weeks, upped the ante with four-six-four off De Klerk, although both she and Knight perished in slow left-armer Nonkululeko Mlaba’s penultimate over, both lustily swinging but picking out fielders.However, a 133-run stand in 90 deliveries helped England set a testing total – no team has successfully chased down more to beat them in this format.While South Africa’s openers settled quickly with a 43-run stand, Sophie Ecclestone took a brilliant catch over her head after Laura Wolvaardt had attempted to clear the in-field in Linsey Smith’s last over of the powerplay.The relief was palpable with head coach Charlotte Edwards running onto the field to celebrate and a mixture of disciplined bowling and excellent fielding kept a tight leash on South Africa.Freya Kemp and Lauren Bell outfoxed Annerie Dercksen and Sune Luus with slower balls, both miscuing to catchers in the ring, either side of which Sciver-Brunt took a simple chance after opposite number Kapp got a leading edge to Charlie Dean.The same combination did for Brits en route to England wrapping up a sixth successive tournament win. One more against Australia will help them seal a first T20 crown since the inaugural edition in 2009.