South Africa created history when they beat Australia for the first time in any format of the game with a six-wicket victory in the second T20I at the Manuka Oval in Canberra.
Chasing 143, the Proteas finished on 144 for four with six balls remaining. Laura Wolvaardt played a captain’s innings to finish on 58 not out and was the player of the match.
Wolvaardt lauded her team for the tremendous result.
“This is a very special victory and to do it against the world champions, I’m very proud of the group. I thought we did well to restrict them upfront. The bowlers bowled well to the field and their lengths were also better.”
Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits got South Africa off to a flyer with 23 runs from the first three overs. The opening pair displayed good shot selection that pierced the field and delivered three boundaries at the start of the innings.
Protea power in Canberra!
— ICC (@ICC) January 28, 2024
Laura Wolvaardt and South Africa claim South Africa's first ever women's T20I victory over Australia and two crucial points in their multi-format series 👏#AUSvSA scorecard: https://t.co/yCItCIQJSO pic.twitter.com/J67HDilfR8
South Africa’s 50 (53*) was up in the seventh over with Wolvaardt on 19 and Brits on 31. The pair continued to rack up the boundaries while their running between the wickets also kept the scoreboard ticking over.
The Protea openers’ partnership came to an end with the score on 75 when a running overhead catch by Georgia Wareham from the bowling of Tahlia McGrath saw the end Brits for 41 (28b, 8x4).
With Marizanne Kapp joining Wolvaardt in the middle, South Africa only needed 68 runs from the last ten overs to secure their first-ever win over Australia in all formats of the game.
Just as Kapp started turning up the heat, she scooped a Ash Gardner delivery high up in the air where Grace Harris took a catch at long-on. The South African was out for 20 (18b, 3x4).
The definition of a captain’s knock, and one of Laura Wolvaardt’s most important fifties 👊 #PlayoftheDay #AUSvSA @hcltech pic.twitter.com/t7cKaFC6Es
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 28, 2024
In the next over (16th) the score became 110 for three when Suné Luus (1) was deceived by the extra bounce from Megan Schutt and Alyssa Healy made sure of the catch behind the wickets.
After a stunning six in the previous over, Anneke Bosch was cleaned bowled for 11 (11b, 1x6) by Gardner of the last ball from the 18th over. It was all up to Wolvaardt and new batter Chloe Tryon to see the South Africans home, which in the end they did in style.
Wolvaardt finished on 58 (53b, 6x4) not out and Tryon on 4 (2b, 1x4). Gardner took two for 26.
Earlier the Australian innings started on a bit of a wobbly note when Ayabonga Khaka dropped a knee-height catch from her own bowling in the second over that would have seen the back of Beth Mooney. The Aussie opener was given another lifeline with her score on ten, this one a caught and bowl by Masabata Klaas that went astray. Luckily the mistake didn’t prove too costly as Klaas got her fingertips to a firmly struck shot by Healy in the same over and with the score on 27. The ball was deflected onto the stumps at the non-striker’s end and Mooney was run out for 13 (12b, 2x4).
Australia lost their second wicket with the score on 58 when Healy missed a straight delivery from Klaas and was bowled for 29 (24b, 5x4).
Then it was a bit of a mini-collapse for the Aussies when they lost three wickets for just nine runs – McGrath for 23, Phoebe Litchfield for 2 and Ellyse Perry for 18. The scoreboard read 93 for five.
Gardner was the sixth Aussie batter to depart (10) when Khaka took a comfortable catch from the bowling of Nadine de Klerk.
Harris (31) and Wareham’s (8) unbeaten 33-run seventh-wicket partnership gave some respectability to an otherwise indifferent Australian batting performance.
The last match is on Tuesday 30 January at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart. The three-match ODI series starts on Saturday 3 February at the Adelaide Oval in Adelaide.
SOUTH AFRICA: Laura Wolvaardt (capt), Tazmin Brits, Marizanne Kapp, Anneke Bosch, Sune Luus, Chloe Tryon, Nadine De Klerk, Sinalo Jafta, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Masabata Klaas, Ayabonga Khaka.
AUSTRALIA: Alyssa Healy (capt), Beth Mooney, Tahlia McGrath, Ellyse Perry, Ash Gardner, Phoebe Litchfield, Grace Harris, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham, Heather Graham, Megan Schutt.