Another loss for Proteas Women, but World Cup is what matters

The Proteas Women suffered another defeat to New Zealand on Friday, but aren’t panicking given the bigger picture of a T20 World Cup on the horizon.

The White Ferns easily chased a target of 150, thanks to a composed half-century from their veteran Sophie Devine at Eden Park.

It was another so-so display from Laura Wolvaardt’s side, who were well short of a defendable total after making 149/7. The captain top-scored with 37, while the only other notable contribution came from Kayla Reyneke — again — who struck three sixes in her unbeaten 34.

“We did not have the best power play,” said Wolvaardt, who watched as both opening batters, Sune Luus and Tazmin Brits, were dismissed within the first three overs, putting her side on the back foot from the start. They mustered only 39 runs with the fielding restrictions in place and the lack of momentum affected the rest of the innings.

Thanks to Reyneke, SA smashed 29 runs off the last two overs, but unlike Tuesday’s match when a similar burst from the 20-year-old led to a win, this time it was insufficient.

“In the modern T20 game, 160-plus is par,” Reyneke wisely reflected.

The Proteas are aware that this five-match series, which they trail 1-2 after Friday’s six-wicket defeat, along with next month’s home series against India, are part of the building blocks for the World Cup.

“It’s a long tour; we are trying to stay positive and not look too far ahead. We are aware of the World Cup. We have this series and then India, and it’s important to keep going game by game,” said Reyneke.

In recent years, much like the men, the Proteas have placed less emphasis on the results of bilateral series and have used matches more to experiment with personnel and combinations. Reyneke is an example of the former. Friday’s was only her fifth T20 International, and this tour has shown that she is a strong candidate for World Cup selection.

“I don’t think she has been dismissed yet and is striking at 160-180 (per 100 balls), which is pretty impressive. We train every day to hit the ball like she does, and hopefully she has a big future for us,” said Wolvaardt.

The Luus/Brits opening combination has been tried sporadically in the past, and is being given another regular run on this tour. It allows Wolvaardt to shift to three, where it is hoped she can play a controlling role for the bulk of the innings, much like her opposite number, Amelia Kerr, does for New Zealand.

The unfortunate injury suffered by Dane van Niekerk has meant she hasn’t had a chance to show her wares against a better team than Ireland and Pakistan, against whom she made her return earlier this summer.

Annerie Dercksen produced her best innings of the series, scoring 27 off 22 balls, batting at No 4, but neither Chloe Tryon nor Nadine de Klerk were able to make an impression with the bat at Eden Park.

With the ball, SA had a reasonable power play as New Zealand scored 42 runs, with Dercksen and Ayana Hlubi each claiming a wicket. However, Devine’s composure, along with Maddy Green’s busy innings of 34 not out off 28 balls, showed up the inadequacy of the SA total. That pair shared a partnership of 84 to see the home team across the line.

The fourth game of the series will take place in Wellington on Sunday.

India and Australia tests

On Friday Cricket SA announced that the Proteas women would play two Tests against India and Australia as part of a busy summer for Wolvaardt’s team.

The current ODI world champions India will tour in December, playing three ODIs as part of the ICC Women’s Championship, which determines the automatic qualifiers for the 2029 ODI World Cup. That will be followed by a four-day Test played in Gqeberha from December 20.

The Australians will play three ODIs and three T20s in March next year, followed by a Test in Potchefstroom starting on April 8.

TimesLIVE