Anneke Bosch and Laura Wolvaardt scored well-paced half-centuries to lay the platform before Chloe Tryon struck a brisk 52 off 25 balls in South Africa Women's march to 346/6 in their ICC Women’s Championship (IWC) one-day international (ODI) against South Africa Women at the Basin Reserve in Wellington on Wednesday. New Zealand needs 347 runs to win.
Tryon was in imperious form as she struck her unbeaten half-century, her 15th in the format. She faced 24 balls to reach the milestone. Her effort, the fastest 50 by a Proteas Women batter, catapulted South Africa to the highest WODI score at Basin Reserve. The 32-year-old capitalised on the work done by Bosch and Wolvaardt earlier in the innings.
Bosch led the way with a brilliant 90-ball 91. This is her new career-best WODI score. Bosch's previous best was 65 not out, which she recorded against Bangladesh Women in December 2023. The 32-year-old went for 16 WODI matches without reaching the 50-run mark after that score.
Bosch marked her return to form with a classy innings characterised by straight bat shots against the pacers and a prodigious use of the sweep shot to Amelia Kerr's spin. She lost her wicket while trying to clear the ropes off Kayley Knight's bowling. She sent the ball straight to Jess Kerr, who did not make a mistake at deep backward square.
Bosch shared a fantastic 132-run second-wicket partnership with her captain, Laura Wolvaardt. The duo joined forces in the eighth over, following Tazmin Brits' dismissal. The opener struggled to find her range thanks to Bree Illing's persistence in hitting good areas. She managed nine runs during her 23-ball stay in the middle.
Bosch and Wolvaardt consolidated and pushed the Proteas Women's score beyond 150 runs. Wolvaardt reminded the world of her abilities with the bat with a well-played 69 from 74 deliveries. This is the South African captain's 39th WODI half-century. Wolvaardt faced 58 balls to get to the milestone. This is her fourth half-century against New Zealand and her ninth in the island country.
Wolvaardt lost her wicket trying to pull a Bree Illing delivery. She top-edged the ball to give Izzy Gaze a comfortable catch with the gloves. The South African captain was replaced by Sune Luus (40), who shared a 44-run third-wicket partnership with Bosch.
Chloe Tryon and Sinalo Jafta (37) played brilliant cameos at the backend that helped the visitors to go over the 300-run mark. The pair dealt in boundaries and hit 10 fours and four sixes between them.
Bree Illing was New Zealand’s most successful bowler with three wickets for 60 runs in 10 overs. Kayley Knight chipped in with a brace of wickets for 65 runs in 10 overs, and Jess Kerr chipped in with a single scalp. The hosts would have restricted South Africa to a much lower total had they held on to several chances they had through the innings.
NEW ZEALAND: Suzannah Bates, Georgia Plimmer, Amelia Kerr (capt), Madeline Green, Brooke Halliday, Isabella Gaze (wk), Isobel Sharp, Jessica Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Kayley Knight, Breearne Illing.
SOUTH AFRICA: Laura Wolvaardt (capt), Tazmin Brits, Anneke Bosch, Sune Luus, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Chloe Tryon, Nadine de Klerk, Kayla Reyneke, Ayabonga Khaka, Masabata Klaas, Nonkululeko Mlaba.