South Africa 177 for 5 (Brits 53, Wolvaardt 41, Luus 31, Reyneke 28*, Amelia Kerr 2-29, Jess Kerr 2-34) beat New Zealand 159 (Amelia Kerr 32, Khaka 4-27, Mlaba 3-27) by 18 runs
Brits and Luus break loose
Hamilton is known for extra swing with the new ball, but South Africa still opted to bat first. Brits and Luus didn’t time the ball perfectly at the start but a combination of an aggressive approach and some luck helped them take 14 off the first two overs.
Amelia had an ordinary start to her spell as well, with Brits thrashing her for four through long-on and a six over long-off in the seventh over, but the allrounder got the first breakthrough when Luus was trapped lbw for a 21-ball 31.
It was also Amelia’s 100th T20I wicket, coming in her 93rd T20I to make her the second-fastest woman to the double of 1000-plus runs and 100-plus wickets in T20Is (after Hong Kong’s Kary Chan).
Wolvaardt and Reyneke finish strongly
While Brits took down Rosemary Mair and Bree Illing despite the Luus dismissal, Wolvaardt moved into the anchor’s role. South Africa reached three figures at the end of the 11th over but Brits’ dismissal to Amelia at the start of the 13th over gave New Zealand an opening.
But a wayward finish to the 18th over bowled by Jess – five no-balls and another four off a free-hit – gave Reyneke some momentum at the start of her innings and she ensured a grand finish. Sophie Devine, tasked with bowling the 20th, conceded a hat-trick of sixes to Reyneke as the rookie finished with an unbeaten nine-ball 28. Wolvaardt was not out for a 33-ball 41, and New Zealand needed 178 to win.
Reyneke, the 20-year-old, was adjudged the Player of the Match for her impact with the bat. Talking to the broadcaster afterwards, she said, “It was pretty sick. Batting with Wolvaardt was a dream come true. Devine is not only a big name but also a big bowler. I just watched the ball and tried to clear the boundary.”
Khaka and Mlaba strangle New Zealand
No team had chased 178 in a T20I in New Zealand before, and it got even more difficult for New Zealand when Dercksen dismissed Georgia Plimmer for 1 in the first over and Khaka sent Isabella Gaze, the other opener, packing for six in the third.
Amelia, the No. 3, counterattacked to help take 63 in the powerplay, but when she fell to Mlaba’s legbreak in the seventh over, it took the fizz out of the chase. Devine, the No. 4, was soon bowled by a scramble-seam delivery from Nadine de Klerk, and the wickets just kept tumbling.
Khaka then added to her tally by removing Brooke Halliday and Maddy Green in the 13th over, while Mlaba removed Bates, batting at No. 8, for 1 and the other Kerr sister for 14.
A hat-trick of fours from Sharp in the 17th over gave New Zealand an outside chance as they brought the equation down to 29 off 12 balls. However, they ran out of wickets as Sharp was caught at cover point looking for a big shot while Mair was run-out at the start of the 20th over.
Sreshth Shah is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo. @sreshthx
