South Africa women create history in Canberra, beat Australia by six wickets in second T20 to level series

Cricket News
Steven
January 28, 2024

Laura Wolvaardt (Source – X)

South African women’s team have beaten Australian women for the first time. They won by six-wicket win in their T20 clash in Canberra to level the series 1-1. The Proteas captain Laura Wolvaart held her nerve to steer the team to a magnificent victory in the second t20, which levelled the T20I series.

Proteas bowling unit hold the hosts to a below-par 6-142. They tracked it down with six balls to spare, thanks to captain Laura Wolvaardt’s unbeaten half-century and opener Tazmin Brits’ quickfire 41 off 28 balls. Proteas have bowled really well in the first innings to restrict the Aussies to 142-6 in their 20 overs.

Wolvaardt (58 not out) and Tazmin Brits (41) added 75 for the first wicket. South Africa and Australia met 24 times, including ODIs and T20s, and the first time the Proteas have been victorious.

Wolvaardt acknowledged this win as a stepping-stone to the result could be for her team, as they look towards the T20 World Cup in October

“It’s very special, obviously having never beaten them before in any format or game is something we were looking to change and to do it in their own backyard is incredibly special,” she said.

“Especially just with a lot of senior players retiring in the past few years…to have this new dynamic young team just obviously beating the World Champions is something very special and something that hopefully can change our mindset. Hopefully, the voodoo is a bit broken now and we can win them on a more regular basis.” she added.

After winning the toss Australia chose to bat first. after they had chased down 147 for 6 in Saturday’s contest without getting out of second gear the expectations are very high from them. But they struggled to find gaps and looked a bit uncomfortable against the Proteas bowling, captain Alyssa Healy scored (29 off 24 balls) and Grace Harris scored a fiery (31 not out off 18).

They are the only players who looked comfortable at the crease. South Arfica’s Pace sensation Masabata Klaas was particularly lethal, taking 2 wickets and conceding only 16 runs in three overs, while spin duo Nonkululeko Mlaba and Chloe Tryon have been economical in the middle overs. South Africa continuously created pressure on the Aussies, and they held the hosts without a boundary for 29 balls in a crucial period between the 13th and 18th overs.

Tahlia McGrath struggled to score quickly for a second straight game, making 23 off 28 deliveries. It was a similar story for Ellyse Perry (18 off 19 balls). Harris hit three fours and a six in her unbeaten 31, with Australia taking 18 runs off Khaka’s final over of the innings to give themselves something to defend.