Wolf hounds Irish as Proteas cut tourists Luus

South Africa’s women stormed to a 1-0 lead in their three-match T20 international series in Cape Town on Friday, thrashing Ireland by 105 runs at Newlands.

A sparkling century from Laura Wolvaardt and fireworks with both bat and ball from Sune Luus ensured the Proteas head to Sunday’s second match in Paarl off the back of a booming win.

Batting first after winning the toss, captain Wolvaardt finished unbeaten on 115 of 56 balls after a signature innings that took the Irish bowling to pieces in blustery conditions.

Luus proved the perfect partner as she crafted a career best 81 off 51 balls from the top of a reshuffled order.

The skipper brought up her 50 off just 24 balls, claiming the SA record for the fastest half century in the process.

And she celebrated by treating the newly introduced Louise Little with absolute disdain, launching over long off once again before following up with a sumptuous on drive as 20 came from the tenth.

Luus then reminded everyone her skipper wasn’t the only show in town.

First she whacked down the ground for six, then caned a full toss around the corner for four before taking a single to go to her sixth international 50 from 35 balls.

Ava Canning stuck to her task and finally had Luus bowled off an underedge in the 18th over, just as she was beginning to eye a maiden century.

The bat-raising opportunity instead fell to the unstoppable Wolvaardt a couple of balls later, reaching three figures off just 52 balls with a clip into the onside.

Dane van Niekerk even had time to bring her four-year international exile to an end.

The former Proteas captain made 21 in an eight-ball cameo to help the current leader leave the tourists with a nightmare task.

Luus (4-22) then dominated with ball in hand to leave Ireland’s reply in tatters before it even began.

She struck twice inside the first over, first when she had the misfiring Amy Hunter caught in the deep by Chloe Tryon.

Orla Prendergast went next, flapping her second delivery back towards the bowler, who took a fine tumbling catch to her right to leave the Irish 4-2.

Immediately replacing Luus with Masabata Klass seemed an odd move.

And it didn’t pay off, as captain Gaby Lewis took charge in settling the Irish down to reach 30-2 by the time Luus returned to bowl the fifth.

Nonkululeko Mlaba seemed a much more sensible option and so it proved, as she helped limit Ireland to 38-2 at the end of the six-over powerplay.

The guilt-ridden face of Chloe Tryon said everything about her dismissal of Lewis (30 off 29), who swatted a wayward legside delivery straight into the hands of Wolvaardt at short fine leg.

It was a wicket that dropped the Irish innings into something of a slumber as Mlaba and then Nondumiso Shangase kept things tight, save for a Marizanne Kapp misfield on the boundary.

That left the tourists 64-3 at the halfway mark and looking at batting practice rather than a tilt at a record-busting victory.

Leah Paul was quietly going about her business with that in mind and punished the returning Klass with a flat-batted crash through the busy covers, followed immediately by a perfectly controlled pull for four.

But she perished when her thick edge off Shangase could only find the magnetic hands of Wolvaardt, seeing Paul depart for 34 off 23.

Laura Delany went next when she became Luus’s third victim, caught by Klass for 13.

And the rapid departure of Christina Coulter Reilly, bowled by Tryon (2-15), left them a sorry 88-6 in the 14th.

Luus snaffled her fourth when she had Canning caught in the deep by Shangase, before Little’s rearguard came to an end when she crashed Nadine de Klerk straight to Klass.

Mlaba (2-9) clean bowled Jane Maguire to put the hosts on the brink, then repeated the trick to dismiss Lara McBride and seal the deal with the Irish all out for 115.

SOUTH AFRICA: Faye Tunnicliffe, Sune Luus, Laura Wolvaardt (capt), Dane van Niekerk, Marizanne Kapp, Chloe Tryon, Nadine de Klerk, Nondumiso Shangase, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Masabata Klaas, Nonkululeko Mlaba.

IRELAND: Gaby Lewis (capt), Amy Hunter (wk), Orla Prendergast, Laura Delany, Leah Paul, Christina Coulter Reilly, Louise Little, Ava Canning, Aimee Maguire, Jane Maguire, Lara McBride.