New Zealand women opening batter Amelia Kerr scored a superb unbeaten century to lead her team to a six wicket win in the third and final ODI against the Proteas women at Hollywoodbets Kingsmead in Durban on Sunday afternoon.
Kerr struck a boundary over the offside field off the first ball of Ayabonga Khaka’s penultimate over and then scrambled through for a single off the next ball to take her side home and finish on 100 off 117 balls, having hit 13 fours in her innings.
It was a consolation win for the visitors after the Proteas had sealed the series by winning the first two ODIs, but they will now take this momentum into the five-match T20I series starting this coming Friday.
At the start of play, New Zealand won the toss and chose to bowl, restricting the hosts to 209 all out in a game reduced to 45 overs a side due to a few early showers.
The New Zealand chase then got off to a steady start as Kerr and Suzie Bates (9) shared 42 runs for the first wicket before Bates pulled Masabata Klaas straight to Tamzin Brits.
Sophie Devine (30) joined Kerr and they put on a strong 64-run second-wicket stand to firmly put their side in the driving seat.
However, a mid-innings fightback from the Proteas saw the momentum swing back in favour of the hosts as Devine was bowled by Nonkululeko Mlaba and Maddy Green was stumped for a seven-ball duck off the bowling of Chloe Tryon as New Zealand slipped to 107 for three.
NZ WIN THE 3RD & FINAL ODI
— Proteas Women (@ProteasWomenCSA) October 1, 2023
A nail-biter comes to an end as Kerr's 💯 leads her side to a close victory. 🇿🇦 The Proteas Women take the series 2-1
Thank you to the fans who showed their support towards #BlackDay✊🖤#AlwaysRising #SAWvNZW pic.twitter.com/HOUeD02PZG
Georgia Plimmer (6) also didn’t last long as she tried to late cut Mlaba, only to find Nadine de Klerk at backward point, leaving them on 127 for four.
But this brought Brooke Halliday (37no) to the crease and along with Kerr, they superbly batted their side to a consolation win with an unbeaten 83-run fifth-wicket stand, helped by two drop catches late in the game by the Proteas.
In the first innings, the Proteas were grateful to experienced allrounder Marizanne Kapp, whose 72 off 73 balls (7x4) drove their batting effort after a difficult start.
Brits (12) was first to fall, popping an easy return catch to bowler Hannah Rowe, while Anneke Bosch (7) edged Lea Tahuhu behind to keeper Isabella Gaze with the Proteas on 38 for two.
Sune Luus (5) was bowled through the gate by Devine as they slipped to 43 for three and, although captain Laura Wolvaardt made her way to 24, she struggled throughout her innings, not hitting a single boundary in the 54 balls she faced before inside-edging Devine onto her own stumps.
A 𝙃𝙐𝙂𝙀 moment for @chloetryon25 as she celebrates her 💯th cap with her teammates 🧢🇿🇦#AlwaysRising #BlackDay #SAWvNZW pic.twitter.com/u3eGqnFg7H
— Proteas Women (@ProteasWomenCSA) October 1, 2023
At 67 for four in the 18th over, the Proteas were in a spot of bother but Kapp was joined by Tryon (26) and they set about the biggest partnership of the innings, a solid 58-run fifth-wicket stand that took them past the hundred run mark in the 24th over.
With the partnership looking as if it would develop into a big one, Tryon was undone by a ball from Fran Jonas that pitched halfway down the pitch but kept low to castle her, with the Proteas on 125 for five.
De Klerk hit only three scoring shots in her nine off 24 balls before Kapp found another partner in Sinalo Jafta (18) as they shared 41 for the seventh wicket.
But Jafta edged Tahuhu behind to Gaze and Kapp, having reached a well-deserved half-century, did the same off the bowling of Kerr, leaving the Proteas on 188 for eight.
Klaas (10) and Mlaba (9) both cracked two boundaries each to get the Proteas over the 200-run mark before they were also removed by Tahuhu and Kerr respectively.
SOUTH AFRICA: Laura Wolvaardt (capt), Tazmin Brits, Anneke Bosch, Sune Luus, Marizanne Kapp, Nadine de Klerk, Chloe Tryon, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Ayabonga Khaka Masabata Klaas, Nonkululeko Mlaba
NEW ZEALAND: Suzie Bates, Amelia Kerr, Sophie Devine (capt), Maddy Green, Georgia Plimmer, Brooke Halliday, Hannah Rowe, Isabella Gaze (wk), Lea Tahuhu, Eden Carson, Fran Jonas