South Africa’s Women’s T20 World Cup campaign ended in gut-wrenching fashion at the Oval on Thursday, succumbing to a 40-run semi-final defeat against tournament hosts England despite a blistering start that had the Proteas dreaming of Lord’s.
After reducing England to 23/3 inside four overs with a devastating new-ball burst, the Proteas watched helplessly as Nat Sciver-Brunt and Heather Knight, two battle-hardened campaigners who lifted the 2017 50-over World Cup, counter-punched ruthlessly to drag England to 169/5. A chase of 170 proved beyond South Africa, who finished well short on 129/8 in front of over 21,000 spectators.
It’s a bitter pill for captain Laura Wolvaardt and her charges, who had knocked England out of both the 2023 T20 World Cup semi-final and last year’s 50-over World Cup. This time, the roles reversed cruelly.
The perfect start that turned to dust
The Proteas couldn’t have scripted a better opening. Shabnim Ismail struck with her very first delivery, Amy Jones cutting straight to point. The veteran quick then removed Alice Capsey lbw to leave England reeling at three down. Between those dismissals, Marizanne Kapp deceived tournament sensation Danni Wyatt-Hodge, who’d plundered a record 282 runs in her previous five innings, with a beautifully disguised slower ball that crashed into the stumps for just 12.
At 23/3, the Proteas sensed blood. England were rattled. The final beckoned.
But Kapp (1-16 off four overs) and Ismail (2-31) couldn’t bowl throughout. When the attack rotated, the wheels fell off spectacularly. Ayabonga Khaka and Nadine de Klerk’s combined seven wicketless overs haemorrhaged 79 runs, gifting Sciver-Brunt and Knight the platform to resurrect England’s innings with a match-defining 133-run partnership.
The chase that never got going
Wolvaardt admitted her side had been “outplayed” and conceded 170 was par. “We were happy with 170. They bowled well, had good plans and we weren’t able to step up,” she said.
The Proteas’ chase suffered an immediate setback when Wolvaardt herself fell for 17, well caught by a leaping Sophie Ecclestone at mid-on off Linsey Smith. At 43/1, hope remained. But when Annerie Dercksen sliced Freya Kemp to point to make it 49/2, the required rate began climbing ominously.
The decisive blow came when Kapp, South Africa’s experienced all-rounder and potential match-winner, fell for just five, offering a gentle leading edge to an elated Sciver-Brunt at extra-cover off Charlie Dean’s off-spin.
Tazmin Brits fought valiantly, reaching fifty at better than a run-a-ball, but her dismissal to Dean left the Proteas all but beaten at 95/5. The remaining overs became a procession rather than a pursuit.
Another knockout heartbreak
This defeat stings differently. The Proteas have proven they can beat England in knockout cricket, they’ve done it twice in the last two years in World Cup semi-finals. But on Thursday at the Oval, when the early breakthroughs arrived and the crowd fell silent, South Africa couldn’t twist the knife.
Kapp and Ismail did their jobs superbly, exposing England’s top order with world-class swing and seam bowling. But the supporting cast couldn’t maintain the stranglehold, and against two players with the pedigree and composure of Sciver-Brunt and Knight, that margin for error vanished instantly.
England will face arch-rivals Australia, who demolished the West Indies by eight wickets on Tuesday, in Sunday’s final at Lord’s. Both sides boast perfect six-from-six records.
For the Proteas, it’s another case of what might have been. They came agonisingly close to another English knockout scalp, but this time the experience, the home crowd, and Sciver-Brunt’s match-winning 75 proved too much.
Wolvaardt’s young squad will grow from this hurt. But right now, it just stings.
