Maddy Green scored a brilliant unbeaten century and Rosemary Mair captured a maiden five-wicket haul in New Zealand Women's 66-run win over South Africa Women in their third ICC Women’s Championship (IWC) one-day international (ODI) at the Basin Reserve in Wellington on Saturday.
The hosts, who were put in to bat first by South Africa, scored 306/7 in 50 overs. Their bowlers banded together to bowl South Africa out for 240 runs in 46.1 overs. The victory also means that New Zealand secures a 2-1 series win.
“South Africa is a quality side, they have made it to the World Cup finals in how many years. To win the series is special for this group,” Amelia Kerr, the New Zealand captain, shared after the match.
Green held New Zealand's innings together with a sensational unbeaten 141 runs from 128 balls (15X4s). This is her new career-best WODI score, surpassing her previous high score of 122, which she recorded against Ireland Women in 2018. It is also her third century in the format.
The White Ferns were on 2/3 after 2.4 overs when Green arrived at the crease. The 33-year-old was still getting accustomed to the surroundings when New Zealand lost their third wicket three deliveries later. Green joined forces with Brooke Halliday to rebuild and consolidate. The duo was content to score at a slow but steady pace through the first 30 overs before accelerating towards the backend of the innings.
“I was just trying to build a partnership and see if we can lay a platform to get to a competitive total. It was great to have Brooke out there with me, she was incredibly calm throughout. I really enjoyed batting with her, I thought she was exceptional as well,” Green, who was named both the Player of the Match and the Player of the Series, revealed.
Green and Halliday constructed a match-winning 211-run fourth-wicket partnership. It collapsed after Halliday's dismissal in the 40th over. The 30-year-old walked back to the pavilion after contributing 98 runs from 124 deliveries.
“There's a lot of phases where we can be a bit better with the ball. I think we were really good in the powerplay today. We can definitely hit those areas for longer,” Laura Wolvaardt, the South Africa captain said.
South Africa needed a pivotal partnership that mimicked Green and Halliday's, and they also needed someone who stayed in the middle for as long as possible. Unfortunately, they had neither, and that was in part because of Rosemary Mair's bowling. The 27-year-old claimed five wickets for 50 runs in 9.1 overs.
“She (Mair) is a strike bowler. I think everyone saw at the T20 World Cup in Dubai how good she was, she made the Team of the Tournament. For us she is a wicket-taker, she can bowl in all three phases of the game, which makes her easy to use as a captain,” Kerr explained.
Mair had help from Amelia Kerr, who clinched two wickets for 37 runs in nine overs. Jess Kerr, Kayley Knight, and Nensi Patel also chipped in with a wicket each.
Mair got New Zealand a much-needed breakthrough by dislodging Tazmin Brits (25) in the 13th over. South Africa mounted a fightback with a 77-run second-wicket partnership between Laura Wolvaardt and Annerie Dercksen (47). Kayley Knight stopped them in their tracks with Laura Wolvaardt's dismissal. The South African captain departed for a well-played 69 from 68 balls. Mair struck shortly afterwards, accounting for Dercksen.
Those two wickets were the beginning of the end for the visitors. South Africa lost six wickets for 59 runs in a spectacular collapse. Chloe Tryon, who was brought in as a late replacement for Kayla Reyneke, rallied with a 26-ball 29. Unfortunately, her effort wasn't enough to salvage the situation.
“We played a lot of good cricket throughout the series. It’s frustrating to lose at 2-1. We just lost our way a bit today,”Wolvaardt explained.
NEW ZEALAND: Suzie Bates, Georgia Plimmer, Amelia Kerr (capt), Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Izzy Gaze (wk), Izzy Sharp, Jess Kerr, Nensi Patel, Rosemary Mair, Kayley Knight
SOUTH AFRICA: Laura Wolvaardt (capt), Tazmin Brits, Annerie Dercksen, Sune Luus, Anneke Bosch, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Nadine de Klerk, Chloe Tryon, Tumi Sekhukhune, Ayanda Hlubi, Nonkululeko Mlaba