By: Elena Roopchansingh 17 October, 2024
South Africa and Australia come to the semi final, a rematch of the 2023 final where Australia came out the winner. South Africa have never beaten Australia in a T20 World Cup game and they came in with a score to settle.
Having won the toss South Africa elected to field and put Australia under pressure inside the first three overs having them at a modest 18 for the fall of 2 wickets. Grace Harris succumbed in the second over to Ayabonga Khaka offering a catch to Anneke Bosh at backward point. In just the over after Georgia Wareham tickled a feather nick from Marizanne Kapp. It took a review from South Africa but they got their reward. Georgia Wareham has struggled at position three and something the Australian team may reconsider.
Australia struggled in the powerplay scoring their lowest in the tournament at that stage of the game with just 35 runs on the board. Credit to the South African bowlers though who made scoring a huge challenge. They bowled on the stump line and took the pace off beautifully. Captain Tahlia McGrath and Beth Mooney regrouped but it was a slow build with a partnership for 50 runs in 9 overs at a run rate of 5.6 per over. Looking to accelerate at the beginning of the twelfth over McGrath fell for a slower ball from Mlaba mistiming a simple catch to Dercksen at cover-point. Mooney got to forty-four before being run out trying to gain a quick single off the bowling of Kapp. The last four overs for Australia were their most productive, amassing 40 runs with Ellyse Perry and Phoebe Litchfiled at the crease bringing their total to 134, but it still felt sub par.
South Africa gave themselves a solid start handing Australia the most runs they’ve conceded in a powerplay scoring 43 for the loss of one wicket. Tazmin Brits being bowled by Annabel Sutherland from a ball that was perfectly in line with the top of off stump. They powered on with captain Laura Wolvaardt and Anneke Bosch bossing the Australia bowlers around the park. Wolvaardt played a captain’s knock of 42 before being caught at mid-off by her counterpart McGrath again from the bowling of Sutherland. She had already done her job though, putting South Africa in a commanding position giving them the solid foundation to knock the defending champions out of the tournament. But it was player of the match Anneke Bosch’s contribution with 74 off just 48 balls that lit up the run chase. It was an incredible batting display churning runs at all sides of the ground making Australia’s total incredibly insufficient. South Africa marched to the final with just two wickets down and sixteen balls to spare.
A dejected Alysssa Healy looked on from the sidelines of what could have been. You do feel for her, it also being her first international tournament as captain. Her acute foot injury since the game against Pakistan forced her to the role of a spectator. Even then with the depth that Australia boasts there was a collective hum of it being a turning point of their campaign and the tournament on a whole. She’s a game changer and a match winner. They’re not used to being on this side of the fence and it’ll take some time to digest. But credit where credit is due. South Africa were clinical from ball one in the field keeping things tight, not allowing the Australian batters to get into any rhythm of scoring runs. They were always ahead of the game when they were in the field and they needed that to translate to their batting. That they did. When they came out to bat they made the surface look like a different one, scoring freely without having to take much risk. You could see how much it meant to them to finally put the final nail in Australia’s coffin. South Africa await the winner of the second semi final between West Indies and New Zealand to find out who they’ll play against in the final.
No one from the big three and top favourites are headed for the final. India and England didn’t make it out of the group stage and Australia faltered at the semi final. Is this the opening up of the women’s game? It’s surely exciting for the game in general.