Mlaba thrilled to shine for South Africa with career-best figures
Media release
There is no better time to post career-best figures than at a World Cup, and Nonkululeko Mlaba stepped up to the plate for South Africa in their 10-wicket victory over West Indies.
Talk before the contest was that this was a pivotal match in Group B, with victory for either side a huge boost to their semi-final chances.
In the end, it was a comfortable victory for South Africa as Mlaba and her fellow bowlers gave openers Laura Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits the perfect platform for success with the bat.
The spinner took four wickets for 29 runs to provide her batters the perfect platform in Dubai, as South Africa took a huge step towards qualification from Group B at the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2024.
The 24-year-old produced a lesson in accuracy and control, bowling opener Qiana Joseph and took the wickets of Shemaine Campbelle and Chinelle Henry in consecutive balls to dent any hopes of a West Indies middle-order revival.
It proved a crucial contribution on the biggest stage from Mlaba, as Wolvaardt and Brits easily chased down the target of 119 and the bowler was thrilled to have shone for her country.
“This is very special for me, especially because I know I am playing for all the people back in South Africa,” she said. “[I am] representing my family, I have their names on the back of my shirt. I always love playing for my country, it feels good.
“For me it was just stay at the stumps, just don’t leave the stumps, no matter what happens just don’t leave the stumps.
“I think that did really well for me today. The support from my mates, I am always grateful for that.”
Mlaba impressed with the ball alongside the experienced Marizanne Kapp, who took the key wickets of captain Hayley Matthews and the returning Deandra Dottin to stall the West Indies’ innings early on.
The combination of Mlaba and Kapp proved devastating in taking wickets, while Ayabonga Khaka and Nadine de Klerk both proved miserly to slow the run rate.
It left captain Wolvaardt feeling satisfied with her side’s opening performance after she combined with Brits with the bat to both hit half-centuries in a comfortable run chase.
“It was pretty excellent overall,” she said. “The way that Kappie started with the ball was just amazing, just to get those two wickets by the seventh over and to have Mlaba take four wickets is amazing. To win it with 10 in the shed is nice as well.
“We had to squeeze quite a bit of spin in there after the halfway mark because we were seven minutes down at one stage. It was tough to manage with the heat.
“It was one of the harder knocks I have had physically, especially after fielding first and coming into bat after.”
For West Indies, it is now a case of resetting following a disappointing opening defeat.
With just two teams progressing from each group, there is little room for error and now even less for West Indies, but captain Matthews believes her side still have the ability to qualify for the semi-finals.
“It was obviously a very disappointing game and not the way we wanted to start the tournament,” she said.
“We are obviously going to have to pick the pieces up quickly, we have got a game in two days’ time and we are going to have to be able to bounce back really quickly.
“It is a long tournament and we still have a shot with it but it is going to take some good performances, it is just a matter of picking up the pieces and finding a way to bounce back from that.”