South Africa won the toss and chose to bowl in the final T20 of the series at Hagley Oval in Christchurch. With New Zealand already 3–1 up, this dead rubber offers the Proteas one last chance to stitch together a complete performance after a tour defined by flashes of quality rather than sustained control.
“It’s something a bit different. We’ve been batting first throughout the series, so we wanted to try something new,” captain Laura Wolvaardt said at the toss, confirming three changes to the XI.
Tumi Sekhukhune, Anneke Bosch and Ayabonga Khaka return, while Ayanda Hlubi, Tazmin Brits and Nonkululeko Mlaba miss out.
With a T20 World Cup on the horizon, this outing is far from wasted. Fine margins dictate outcomes in this format - even if that felt obscured by the White Ferns’ commanding chase of 159 in the previous match, their second‑highest pursuit in T20Is.
What’s often lost in the narrative is that South Africa set that target in the first place. The visitors have produced moments of real quality, with the across the series has being consistency. New Zealand have executed more reliably, while South Africa have struggled to string their best passages together.
With a one-day series still to come, the Proteas do not have to feel too down and out by whatever the final result of the series ends up being.
NEW ZEALAND: Georgia Plimmer, Isabella Gaze (wk), Amelia Kerr (capt), Sophie Devine, Brooke Halliday, Maddy Green, Izzy Sharp, Jess Kerr, Flora Devonshire, Nensi Patel, Lea Tahuhu
SOUTH AFRICA: Sune Luus, Chloe Tryon, Laura Wolvaardt (capt), Annerie Dercksen, Anneke Bosch, Nadine de Klerk, Kayla Reyneke, Karaba Meso (wk), Masabata Klaas, Ayabonga Khaka, Tumi Sekhukhune