South Africa eye semi-final spot and first ODI win over Australia

MATCH CENTRE | STANDINGS

• Match 21: South Africa Women v Australia Women
• Basin Reserve, Wellington
• Tuesday 22 March, 11:00 Local Time

Australia became the first team to guarantee their spot in the World Cup semi-finals thanks to their victory over India last time out, a fifth win from five matches.

And Tuesday’s opponents South Africa can join the Aussies in officially sealing a semi-final spot if they beat the tournament favourites at Basin Reserve.

The Proteas could well already have enough to make it through, with eight points on the board and two further matches to play after the Australia fixture. And the current focus is on trying to pick up a statement win against the six-time World Champions.

“Obviously they're a world-class side, they're number one in the world, so it's not a game that we're going to take lightly at all,” talented batter Laura Wolvaardt said.

“I guess we just need to see it as a normal game though. Just watch the ball one ball at a time. We can't go out there playing the player.

“I don't think we've ever beaten them in ODIs so I think it's a great opportunity to do that. But yeah, we'll have to be on the top of our game.”

A dramatic tie in 2016 is the closest Australia have ever come to losing an ODI to South Africa in 14 previous meetings, with a last-ball run-out seeing the Proteas miss out on a famous win on that occasion.

That head-to-head record will add further confidence to an already bullish Australian side, who top the group stage standings after a superb tournament so far.

But this will be the first 50-over meeting between the teams in close to five years, and the Aussies are fully aware that they are approaching their biggest test of the 2022 World Cup to-date.

“South Africa have been on a bit of a run and played a lot of consistent cricket across those five years against some world class opponents as well,” Australia’s Beth Mooney said in her pre-match press conference. “Unfortunately, we haven't had too much of an opportunity to come up against them

“They've shown they've got a world class bowling attack as well as batters that can win the game for them. But we're pretty, pretty confident with the intel we have both playing with them in WBBL, and playing against some of the girls in that team that have been around for a long period of time.

“I think towards this back end of this competition, you want to gather as much momentum as you can leading into the semis and potentially a final. I'm sure we'll put our best team out in the park, even though we have locked in that semi-final game.

“We still want to make a huge statement leading into that semi-final as well. So I'm sure you'll see the best of the Australian team across the next two games.”

THE TEAMS

**Australia Squad:**Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Darcie Brown, Nic Carey, Ash Gardner, Grace Harris, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Tahlia McGrath, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Amanda-Jade Wellington. Travelling reserves: Georgia Redmayne, Heather Graham

**South Africa Squad:**Suné Luus (c), Chloé Tryon (vc), Ayabonga Khaka, Lara Goodall, Laura Wolvaardt, Lizelle Lee, Marizanne Kapp, Masabata Maria Klaas, Mignon du Preez, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Shabnim Ismail, Sinalo Jafta, Tazmin Brits, Trisha Chetty, Tumi Sekhukhune. Travelling reserves: Andrie Steyn, Nadine de Klerk, Raisibe Ntozakhe

CWC22 DREAM11 FANTASY WATCH

Captaincy Pick – Rachael Haynes

Australia’s vice-captain started her tournament with a bang, scoring a magnificent 130 off 131 balls with 14 boundaries and one maximum in her first match against England. Two tidy 30s and a brilliant 83* against West Indies saw the 35-year-old continue her brilliant form through the group stage, and her 43 against India strengthened her position as the World Cup’s top run-scorer so far.

Must have – Ayabonga Khaka

One of the less-heralded members of South Africa’s excellent bowling unit, Khaka’s four-wicket haul against Bangladesh was a reminder that the 29-year-old is among the world’s best bowlers. And she followed it up with two more in the win over Pakistan, as well as executing a crucial run-out, before returning impressive figures of 3/31 in the victory over New Zealand and seeing the win through with the bat. The right-arm quick is one of three South Africans in the top eight of the ICC Women's ODI Bowling Rankings, a few spots below her compatriots Shabnim Ismail and Marizanne Kapp.

KEY PLAYERS

**Alyssa Healy:**There's a reason why Healy is rated as the best ODI batter in the world on the MRF Tyres ICC Women's Batting Rankings, with her ability to score quickly at the start of an innings an important feature of the 31-year-old's game. Healy has three ODI centuries and 15 half-centuries to her name for Australia, but it's her impressive strike rate (98.26) in 50-over cricket that particularly stands out.

Marizanne Kapp: Rated as the third-best allrounder on the ICC Women's ODI rankings, Kapp is crucial to South Africa’s chances of doing something special in New Zealand. The 32-year-old played a pivotal role in helping the Perth Scorchers claim the WBBL title earlier in 2022, is just as capable in 50-over cricket. Kapp can also be quite effective with the bat, with her middle-order hitting a strength for the South African side.

THE VENUE

This is one of seven matches being held at the Basin Reserve in Wellington over the course of the tournament.

An established international-standard ground, 'The Basin' will also be the host stadium for the first semi-final.

TOURNAMENT FORMAT

All eight teams at the tournament are playing each other across seven rounds in a league format.

The top four teams in the standings after the conclusion of the Group Stage will qualify for the semi-finals, which will be held in the final week of March.

LATER FIXTURES

Australia’s remaining tournament fixtures:

22 March v South Africa
25 March v Bangladesh

South Africa’s remaining tournament fixtures:

22 March v Australia
24 March v West Indies
27 March v India