Halfway through the group stage, South Africa are sitting pretty on the table with eight points in the bank, second only to Australia. Unbeaten so far in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022, the Momentum Proteas will face their sternest test when they come up against the Meg Lanning-led side in Wellington on Tuesday, 22 March.
South Africa haven’t played an ODI against Australia since the previous edition of the World Cup in England where they faced each other in July 2017 in Taunton. That game saw the Dané van Niekerk-led side go down by 59 runs in their chase of 269. Laura Wolvaardt, then only 18 years old, was the team’s top performer with 71 runs, but the rest of the line-up struggled to get going against what was a mis-firing Australian bowling attack.
However, in the 1711 days since, the Proteas have come a long way as an ODI team. They have played 47 ODIs since the 2017 World Cup, notching up 32 wins, with a win percentage close to 70 – second only to the mighty Australians. During this time, they have won series in India, New Zealand and West Indies, conquering different corners of the cricket world, firmly establishing their position as the No.2 ranked ODI side.
At the heart of South Africa’s rise in recent years has been their superstar allrounder, Marizanne Kapp. The 31-year-old scored close to 500 runs and took over 40 wickets between the 2017 and 2022 World Cups. She has carried that excellent form into the tournament in New Zealand, putting in match-winning performances in tight wins over England and New Zealand.
So far, Kapp has scored 115 runs at an average just over 37, and also taken 10 wickets – joint most in the tournament – through the mega event. She has held her nerve with both bat and ball in tough situations to see South Africa over the line in nail-biting thrillers.
“I think Marizanne has nerves of steel,” skipper Suné Luus said after her team’s two-wicket win over New Zealand on Thursday, 17 March. “She has a lot of experience and she has obviously played all around the world and she’s played in all these kinds of situations, so I think she’s a very calm head especially in situations like that. She’s teaching us how to stay calm and how to back your own skill and finish the game off.”
Going into the match against Australia, the Proteas will be hoping Kapp can deliver again. She averages close to 40 against Lanning and co. in ODIs and, in a batting line-up that hasn’t quite fired as a collective, will need to make a big impression if her team are to upset the tournament favourites.
The Australians though are rather familiar with the allrounder and are well aware of how big a threat she can be. Kapp has been involved in all seasons of the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) in Australia, first playing for the Ellyse Perry-led Sydney Sixers before joining Perth Scorchers and inspiring them to their maiden title last season.
Kapp was at her very best in the WBBL07 final, scoring an unbeaten 23-ball 31 before bowling a searing opening spell. She took the crucial wicket of Bridgett Patterson at the back end of the innings to close out Scorchers’ 12-run win.
“We’ve seen what she can do with the bat and the ball and how competitive she is and that fiery nature she brings to contest, so looking forward to coming up against her this game and hopefully we can keep her a little bit quieter than she has been in in the last couple of games. She’s also shown she’s always the one that puts her hand up for South Africa. So, as I said, hopefully we can keep her a little bit quiet and get on top of them early,” Australia batter and Kapp’s Scorchers teammate, Beth Mooney said in the pre-match press conference on Monday, March 21.
While South Africa may not have faced the Australians as a team in recent times, several individuals have had experience playing with and against their players in the WBBL. Kapp aside, all of Shabnim Ismail, Luus, Wolvaardt, Mignon du Preez, Lizelle Lee, Chloe Tryon and Nadine de Klerk (who is in the reserves) have been part of the tournament and can draw on their experiences from Down Under.
Proteas opening batter, Wolvaardt, admitted to the same, quickly adding that the familiarity gained whilst playing the WBBL could work both ways.
“I think it (playing the WBBL) helps a lot. Australia is actually one of the sides that I guess we should be most prepared for because a lot of our girls have spent quite a lot of time playing against and in the same team as a lot of their players. But I guess it goes both ways. I guess we might know their games a bit better, but they might know ours a bit better as well. Having spent some time over there. So, I think it’s an advantage, but I guess it gives them a bit of an advantage as well,” Wolvaardt said.
On a relatively pacy surface that has so far provided some assistance to the quick bowlers, but also aided shot-making, viewers are in for an exciting contest. South Africa have never beaten Australia in an ODI so far. The closest they came was a tie in Coffs Harbour in 2016; and that was on the back of a half-century from Kapp.
Both sides are unbeaten in the World Cup so far, and a win for South Africa will mean they cement their spot in the top four. But against a ruthless Australian juggernaut, they will have to play their very best cricket – something they haven’t quite managed to do just yet.
Photo 1 Caption: Ayabonga Khaka of South Africa celebrates with Mignon du Preez (L) after taking the wicket of Amy Satterthwaite of New Zealand during the 2022 ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup match between New Zealand and South Africa at Seddon Park on 17 March, 2022. Photo: ICC
(0 rating, 0 votes, rated)
Loading...
