Another scalp for Proteas Women
IN the end, the real tension South Africa endured yesterday was watching the television screens in their dressingroom for the results of the two other ICC Women’s World Cup matches.
And then pandemonium erupted. Australia had trounced India and England defeated New Zealand. All of this meant that the Proteas, who had earlier in the day smashed Sri Lanka, had qualified for the World Cup semi-finals – for only the second time in their history and the first since 2000.
“It’s all a bit surreal. The girls have worked really hard on trying to achieve this. It’s actually quite insane,” Proteas captain Dane van Niekerk told Independent Media exclusively from Taunton.
“No goal is achieved yet, though. We’re here to win a World Cup and we’ve still got one match left against Australia and then the semis, so still lots of work ahead.”
The Proteas are certainly deserved semi-finalists after hardly erring with either the ball or the bat in Taunton yesterday. It was not so much a ruthless display, as a clinical and focused one. Two crucial points were on offer and Van Niekerk’s side collected them without ever having to shift through the gears.
They will know from here on only greater challenges lie ahead – like defending champions Australia on Saturday – and, of course, now the semi-finals.
South Africa won by eight wickets with 161 balls to spare, having treated Sri Lanka’s target of 101 as a stroll in the park. It was not as though Sri Lanka were going through the motions, the South Africans just seemed on a different level to their opponents from the Asian sub-continent.
“Coming into this World Cup, we were really confident about our processes, and all the hard work the team has put in. Our team’s been performing really well. Every game has been a team effort.
“My opening bowlers are setting up our games. I’m up here is because of them and the individual performance the others have been putting up,” said Van Niekerk, who earned a second consecutive Player of the Match award for her 4/24.
Even the early loss of their leading run-scorer and talisman Lizelle Lee for a second-ball duck – her first failure of this World Cup – and Trisha Chetty (13 off 18 balls) before the lunch interval could not break South Africa’s stride.
Opener Laura Wolvaardt and the experienced Mignon du Preez produced precise and authoritative stroke-making. Although there was some early swing for the seamers and a little spin for some of the Sri Lankan left-arm slow bowlers, they never looked like being parted. Their unbroken stand of 78 runs in 17.4 overs at a rate of 4.41 ensured South Africa’s overall run-rate lifted to +1.72 – a crucial factor in the jostling for semi-final places.
Wolvaardt, the 18-year-old schoolgirl, fell just two runs short of a deserved half-century, while former skipper Du Preez remained unbeaten on 38.
This was all so vastly different to Sri Lanka’s effort with the bat. South African opening bowler Marizanne Kapp has truly lived up to her World No 1 bowler status and delivered yet another early strike for her team. With the very first ball of her spell, the right-arm seamer delivered an in-swinging yorker to trap Sri Lanka’s premier batter Chamari Atapattu in front.
South Africa had thrown the first punch – and just like against India when captain Van Niekerk removed her counterpart Mithali Raj with her
The leg-spinning skipper once again helped herself to a four-wicket haul – her third of the competition. She’s now taken 13 wickets.
There were also wickets for Masabata Klaas, in the side for the first time for left-armer Moseline Daniels, and fellow leggie Sune Luus.
Consistent seamer Shabnim Ismail ended the innings with figures of 3/14.