Proteas women crash to big Australia loss in first T20 World Cup match
· Citizen
The Proteas women crashed to a heavy 65-run loss against Australia in their opening match of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup at Old Trafford in Manchester on Saturday.
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It was a disappointing performance from the Proteas, as they produced an up and down bowling effort that allowed Australia to reach a decent 172/8 batting first, which proved more than enough as they could only respond with 107 all out.
It is a hammer blow of a start for the Proteas, as they are in the group of death, with India the other powerhouse side in there while Pakistan and Bangladesh are also tricky, and with the top two teams going through to the semis, it means they have no more wiggle room going forward.
What if
The Proteas will look back at the match and ask what if, after they did well to take regular wickets throughout the Aussie innings, when they won the toss and chose to bat first, but they could never back up one good over with another.
Australia’s total wasn’t a daunting one, but the previous highest score chase in a women’s T20 World Cup match was 164, so the Proteas knew they would have to make history if they were to claim a win, which they were unable to do.
Proteas strike bowlers Marizanne Kapp and Shabnim Ismail made sure they got off to a good start, as Gerogia Voll fell in the first over for a duck and Beth Mooney (7) departed in the fourth, leaving them in early trouble on 24/2.
But Phoebe Litchfield, 50 off 24 balls (9×4; 1×6), proved to be a one women army, as she dominated the rest of the powerplay in getting her side to 52/2 by the end of the sixth over.
Another quick double then set the Aussie back, as Ayabonga Khaka had Litchfield caught in the seventh, after being hit for back-to-back boundaries, and three balls later Nonkululeko Mlaba got Ash Gardner (1) cheaply, as they slipped to 62/4 in the eighth over.
Out of the hole
Ellyse Perry, 36 off 26 (4×4), and Georgia Wareham, 32 off 22 (6×4), dug them out of that hole with a 58-run stand off 38 balls, with them finding gaps in the field at will, but with a big score looking on they also fell, leaving them on 133/6 in the 16th over.
Despite the Proteas taking a few more wickets, Annebel Sutherland (21) and Nicola Carey (13no) produced decent cameos to get them to a solid score.
Mlaba was by far the pick of the Proteas bowlers with 2/22 in her four overs, while Nadine de Klerk, 2/35, also bowled well.
The Proteas batting effort never really got off the ground, as they lost regular wickets throughout their innings.
Sune Luus (1) was pinned LBW by Sophie Molineux in the first over and Annerie Dercksen (4) was bowled by Kim Garth in the second, and from 7/2 it was an uphill battle which they were unable to escape from.
Captain Laura Wolvaardt was initially starved of the strike first up, and then struggled to get going, with her eventually top scoring with 44 off 39 balls (2×4; 1×6), while De Klerk, 25 off 22 (1×4; 2×6), and Kapp (12), were the only other batters to reach double figures.
The Proteas next face Pakistan in a must-win match next week Wednesday.