Stunning South Africa smash New Zealand to save World Cup campaign

MATCH CENTRE AND SCORECARD

A shock defeat to Sri Lanka on the opening day had left South Africa reeling, knowing they would have to beat at least one of Australia or New Zealand and potentially both in order to qualify for the final four.

And the Proteas massively boosted their semi-final chances with a brilliant display against a New Zealand side, who have now suffered two heavy defeats in the tournament.

Nonkululeko Mlaba (3/10) lit up the Powerplay, removing both of New Zealand’s openers for ducks, meaning that the White Ferns have returned 0/4 from their opening batters so far in this tournament.

Mlaba, ranked second in the MRF Tyres ICC Women’s T20I Bowling Rankings, had Bernadine Bezuldenhout brilliantly stumped off just the second ball of the innings.

And the spinner was at it again in her second over, cleaning up Suzie Bates and celebrating in style.

Sophie Devine dropped herself from opener down to number five in the batting order, but the captain was out in the middle inside the Powerplay as Georgia Plimmer was caught off Marizanne Kapp.

The White Ferns were struggling on 13/3 in their chase of 133, and things went from bad to worse when Amelia Kerr edged behind to depart for 10 (12).

The Kiwis reached just 19/4 at the end of the Powerplay, and Chloe Tryon dismissed Maddy Green to leave New Zealand five down and relying hugely on Devine to bail them out at Boland Park.

But wickets continued to fall, and when Devine was trapped in front by Tryon the jig was all but up. And South Africa wrapped up the victory in the penultimate over, winning by 65 runs to give their net run rate a huge and potentially-crucial boost.

Earlier, the Proteas had won the toss and opted to bat first, hoping to follow the lead set by Ireland and England in the earlier game on this ground, which saw runs flow during both Powerplays.

But early wickets stunted the home side’s early impetus.

It was Tazmin Brits (1) who fell in the opening over, trapped lbw by Eden Carson as New Zealand opted to start with spin first up. And Marizanne Kapp joined Brits back in the dugout when she plinked a mistimed shot straight to Jess Kerr off Lea Tahuhu for 9 (10 balls).

Laura Wolvaardt and Sune Luus led the rebuild, with South Africa reaching 44/2 by the end of the Powerplay, but a mix-up saw Luus sacrifice herself after making a big error between the wickets.

Tahuhu cleaned up Wolvaardt (13) to make it 55/4, but Tryon and South Africa’s lower middle combined to reach a competitive score.

Tryon top-scored with 40 from 34 balls, while Nadine de Klerk finished unbeaten on 28* (26), and those rescue efforts proved to give the bowlers more than enough to work with.

South Africa’s star spinner provided magic moments with the ball, ripping into the New Zealand top order and pumping up the atmosphere at Boland Park.

Mlaba’s figures of 3/10 were a richly-deserved return for a bowler who took the new ball and set the tone for the win.

Ranked second in the world in this format, Mlaba will be eyeing the slow surfaces at this tournament as a huge opportunity to make her mark.

The power-hitting of South Africa’s all-rounder is well known, but she showcased some of her other qualities on Monday in Paarl.

Digging in to build a partnership and rescue the first innings, Tryon bided her time before accelerating late on, showing that there is far more to her game than just those trademark big hits.

Her 40 from 34 balls was the top score in the game.

And with the ball Tryon was dangerous too, taking 2/12 in her three overs and bagging the key wicket of Devine.

Capsey and spinners inspire England to big win over Ireland

The meeting between South Africa and New Zealand came after England had produced a superb performance to smash Ireland by four wickets with almost six overs remaining at Boland Park.

England’s spin trio took eight wickets between them, while young Alice Capsey starred with the bat, hammering the joint-fastest half-century at a Women’s T20I World Cup.

Sarah Glenn (3/19), Sophie Ecclestone (3/13) and Charlie Dean (2/26) who did the damage with the ball as England hit back through the middle overs.

The haul by England’s spinners is the most ever taken by an English women’s spin attack at a T20 World Cup, and was a perfect response after Ireland’s strong start to their opening game at the tournament.

In search of 106 to win it was Capsey who did much of the damage, smashing 51 in 22 balls before falling at the start of the seventh over. Capsey’s 21-ball half-century equalled a T20I World Cup record previously shared by Sophie Devine and Alyssa Healy.

Wickets fell as the target approached, but despite Cara Murray taking 3/15, England got the job done, wrapping up the win with 34 balls and four wickets remaining.