SA women keep up their hot streak at World Cup

Marizanne Kapp came to SA’s rescue with the bat yet again as she remained unbeaten on 34 in a crunch chase against hosts New Zealand as the Proteas secured their fourth straight win at the ICC Women’s World Cup on Thursday.

New Zealand were all out for 228 in 47.5 overs at Seddon Park in Hamilton, and SA, who also had a nail-baiting chase in their last game against England, reached 229/8 with three balls to spare (49.3 overs) to win by two wickets.

Kapp walked in to bat at 166/4 and despite wickets falling regularly at the other end, held her nerve to consolidate SA’s position on the points table, where they are second with a net run-rate (+0.226) slightly less than table-toppers Australia (+1.744).

New Zealand fought hard, with Amelia Kerr’s 3/50 helping them claw back the game, but brilliant knocks from Laura Wolvaardt (67), Sune Luus (51) and Kapp took SA home.

Chasing 229, Lizelle Lee and Wolvaardt started positively for SA. Lee, who had not lived up to her billing thus far, looked in good form before calamity struck. Hesitation in running between the wickets and greed for the third run cost her her wicket, as she was found just short of her crease.

The wicket helped New Zealand put the brakes on the scoring. It was a struggle for Tazmin Brits initially but Wolvaardt kept finding the boundaries to keep the run rate in check. Brits finally broke the shackles in Kerr’s first over with two consecutive boundaries to get going.

Just when it looked like the two batters were set, Kerr’s guile got the better of Brits. Dancing down the track, she was beaten by the spin and Katey Martin behind the stumps had all the time in the world to whip off the bails.

Wolvaardt was lucky on a few occasions, with a dropped catch and almost dragging on to her stumps but with skipper Luus kept the chase on track. At the halfway stage, SA were 105/2, still 124 runs from a win.

Wolvaardt’s sublime tournament with the bat continued, as she brought up her third consecutive 50 with a four. It looked like SA were cruising to victory before Kerr worked her magic. She trapped Wolvaardt leg before for 67 and scalped Mignon du Preez in her next over, thanks to a sharp catch from Martin behind the stumps.

Hannah Rowe landed a body blow to SA with the wicket of Luus, who departed after her 50.

The game ebbed and flowed in the final 10 overs. Frances Mackay ended the sixth-wicket stand of 28 runs between Chloe Tryon and Kapp with the former holing out in the deep in the 46th over. Kapp, however, smashed two boundaries in the next to bring it down to a-run-a-ball in the final three overs.

Mackay scalped Trisha Chetty and Devine rattled the stumps of Shabnim Ismail in consecutive overs to bring another twist in the tale but Kapp’s boundary off the penultimate ball of the 49th over brought the equation down to six off the final six.

Kapp smoked a four off the very first ball of the final over and trusted Ayabonga Khaka to win it for SA by taking a single off the next.

Earlier, New Zealand’s 228 was largely thanks to Sophie Devine’s brilliant knock of 93.