Ismail shines as Proteas complete series clean sweep over Ireland

A second career five-wicket haul for fast bowler, Shabnim Ismail helped the Momentum Proteas complete a notable series whitewash over Ireland after a dominant 189-run victory against the home side at the Clontarf Cricket Ground on Friday.

Ismail grabbed outstanding figures of 5-8 as South Africa bowled out the hosts for 89 to successfully defend a score of 278 for five after batters, Suné Luus (93 off 104 balls; 11 fours) and Laura Wolvaardt (89 off 128 balls; 6 fours) starred with the bat in a century, third-wicket partnership.

After winning the toss and electing to set a score, the Proteas Women made an indifferent start at the crease with the early losses of in-form batters, Andrie Steyn (14) and Lara Goodall (18) despite reaching 57 for two in the 14th over.

With two of the top three dismissed, Wolvaardt and Luus took the game by the scruff of the neck as they got a chance to bat for a long period for the first time in this series. The pair went by their way with confidence and rhythm, striking the ball to all parts of the ground to put on a massive 177 runs as Wolvaardt and Luus notched up their 27th and 13th ODI half-centuries respectively.

With the fifty, Wolvaardt also reached her 3 000th run in the format to become the youngest and fastest South African to reach the milestone before Jane Maguire (1-46) broke the impressive partnership to remove the tall opening batter.

Following the fall of Wolvaardt, the Irish side had their tails up in the field, removing Chloé Tryon (17) and Luus in quick succession, with the South African captain falling seven runs short of her maiden ODI century.

Delmi Tucker (14*) and Trisha Chetty (6*) added some crucial runs to the scoreboard late on to help nudge the Proteas to 278 for five. Arlene Kelly ended as Ireland’s pick of the bowlers with 2-40, while Rachel Delaney (1-50) was the other wicket-taker.

With the ball, South Africa made a blistering start as they ventured to seal a series trouncing, with Ismail wreaking havoc with her speedy and aggressive deliveries to claim the wickets of the home side’s top three batters, including captain Gaby Lewis (0) to leave Ireland stunned on eight for three in the fifth over.

Events went from bad to worse for the young Irish outfit as Ismail returned to take her fourth wicket of the match before Raisibe Ntozakhe (1 / 7) further compounded the visitors' woes to leave them reeling on 13 for five.

A 57-run stand between Mary Waldron (32) and Kelly (25) came at a vital time as the pair withstood the pressure applied by the South African bowlers well to help take Ireland to 70 for six before Luus (2-27) struck in the 24th over.

A combination of Luus, a run-out by Khaka and a first-ever ODI wicket for Tucker (1-6) then all but wrapped up proceedings for South Africa before Ismail returned to the attack to complete another convincing win over the home side.

The Player of the Match went to Ismail for her impressive display with the ball as well as her 300th career international wicket, while special mention also goes to Luus and Wolvaardt.

With the result, South Africa begin their ICC World Championship 2022-25 journey with three wins out of three.