Luus’s lionesses on the brink of history
Proteas will match opponents pound for pound in guts, hunger and fighting spirit
● Skipper Sune Luus and her pride of lionesses bid to summit the Everest of world cricket on Tuesday when they attempt to conquer Australia for the first time ever.
The high-riding Proteas and the mighty Aussies are the only two unbeaten teams left in the Women’s Cricket World Cup in New Zealand and their clash in Wellington seems a likely dress rehearsal for the April 3 final.
Australia are the top-ranked ODI side in women’s cricket, SA are No 2.
Australia have dominated the tournament since its inception in 1973 with six wins, followed by defending champions England on three and then New Zealand with one.
India and the West Indies are the only other two teams to have reached the finals.
Enter SA’s class of 2022, who downed England by three wickets with four balls to spare last Monday — the same England that lost to Australia by 12 runs in a high-scoring game.
SA’s bowling attack will have to douse Australia’s fiery batters, who chased down a 278-run target yesterday to beat India by six wickets with three deliveries remaining.
The teams are poised for an epic battle at the Basin Reserve, but the Proteas will have to overcome history and statistics that favour their opponents.
In 14 ODIs between these two sides, SA has never won — with a record of 13 losses and a single tie that came at Coffs Harbour in New South Wales in November 2016.
Furthermore, the Aussies have developed a culture of winning since March 2018. In 35 outings they have tasted defeat only once, a loss to India in September last year that ended an incredible run of 26 straight victories.
They have five batters in the top 10 of the women’s ODI rankings, including No 1 Alyssa Healy, one of the Aussie openers. Laura Wolvaardt is SA’s only representative there, at No 5.
It’s not surprising that Australia have the best nett run rate at +1.424 after five matches. The Proteas, after four games, are +0.226, which is lower than fourth-placed India on +0.456. SA face India in the final group match next Sunday.
The Proteas fare better in the bowling department, with three apiece in the top 10 — Marizanne Kapp is fourth, Shabnim Ismail fifth and Ayabonga Khaka eighth.
More reassuring, however, are the statistics being produced at the tournament.
Before yesterday’s match Australia had five batters among the top-30 run-scorers, while SA had four.
Australia’s Rachel Haynes is the leading run-scorer with 320 runs, followed by Wolvaardt on 260. Luus was eighth on 174 and Marizanne Kapp further down the list on 115.
Australia also lead the batting averages, with six players in the top 30 compared to SA’s three. Three Australians have averages above 50 — Beth Mooney tops the list on 138, Rachel Haynes is second on 80 and Tahlia McGrath is sixth on 57.
Wolvaardt is third on 65, with Luus next best on 43.50 and Kapp on 38.33.
Kapp has the best bowling figures with her 5/45 against England and Khaka is fifth overall for her 4/32 against Bangladesh in SA’s tournament opener. Ismail is 15th overall on 3/27 against hosts New Zealand.
SA have bowled out three of four teams — Bangladesh, Pakistan and the Kiwis — while Australia had dismissed two out of five sides.
And when it comes to bowling economy, there are five South Africans in the top 30 versus six Australians. But Ismail is the most economical of both teams, ranked fifth overall.
The Proteas have seven survivors of the tied match — it would have been eight had captain Dane van Niekerk not been forced to withdraw because of injury — and that consistency is important.
In the four years that Australia have gone 34-1 in all ODIs, SA notched up a record of 32 victories from 44 games, a 73% win ratio.
But statistics don’t capture elements like guts, hunger and fighting spirit, and on that level the Proteas will match the Aussies pound for pound.