DAY 2: South Africa collapse to give England the advantage

South Africa lost their last seven wickets for 44 runs to give England a first innings advantage of 114 on the second day of the one-off women’s test at the Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein on Monday.

But South Africa struck back when England batted again, with pace bowler Ayanda Hlubi having first innings centurion Maia Bouchier caught behind for a 19-ball duck with a superb delivery in the offside channel. At the close England, with Tammy Beaumont and skipper Heather Knight at the crease, had reached 31 for one in 14 overs to extend their overall lead to 145 with nine wickets in hand. There are two more days left to play in the four-day test.

The South African innings could be assessed before and after a break for lightning shortly after tea. Before the break, South Africa had batted with great resolution and reached 237 for three with three half-centuries from skipper Laura Wolvaardt, Sune Luus and Marizanne Kapp and a valuable 41 from Annerie Dercksen.

Kapp was dismissed just before the lightning break, providing medium-pacer Ryana MacDonald-Gay with her first test wicket on debut. After the clouds had cleared and the sun had returned, MacDonald-Gay doubled up on her wickets by getting Nadine de Klerk caught behind for a duck.

The second new ball then further aided England’s cause as Lauren Bell scythed through the tail finishing with career-best figures of 4/49 including two wickets in consecutive balls and the chance of a hat-trick.

South Africa had earlier resumed on 17 without loss after England declared their first innings on 395 for nine wickets shortly before the close of play on Sunday. The home team lost their first wicket in the second over when Anneke Bosch played tentatively at a wide delivery from pace bowler Bell, edging a catch to wicketkeeper Amy Jones.

Thereafter Wolvaardt and Dercksen put together an excellent partnership of 92 in 173 balls – a South African record for the wicket against England. As the number of balls suggests, it was tough, attritional cricket against a tight attack that bowled wicket to wicket, generally on a good length, that made fast scoring difficult.

Wolvaardt managed the battle calmly and efficiently, unleashing her famed cover drive when appropriate, as well as scoring well through the midwicket area. The 23-year-old Dercksen showed lots of grit and application in her innings of 41 in 77 balls (8x4s). Her only weakness was a vulnerability to Lauren Filer’s short-pitched bowling. She was hit on the helmet by one bumper and survived a chance to Bell at fine-leg. Sadly for her she was unable to withstand Filer’s final over before lunch, nudging a rising delivery to Knight at slip who knocked the ball up for Sophie Ecclestone to take a sharp reflex catch on the rebound.

Much of the morning session revolved around a battle between Wolvaardt and England’s star left-arm spinner Ecclestone who showed good discipline in her spell of eight overs for 12 runs, occasionally getting turn and bounce on a pitch that was quickly drying out in the intense heat and breezy conditions.

Only one wicket fell in the afternoon session as South Africa continued to cope well with England’s disciplined attack, and that was the valuable scalp of Wolvaardt who was adjudged leg before to Ecclestone for 65. It was a controversial dismissal because it appeared that Wolvaardt got an inside edge before the ball went on to her pad. She was clearly angry with the umpire’s verdict as she reluctantly left the field but the real problem was that Cricket South Africa had decided to dispense with the Decision Review System (DRS) for this test, apparently due to expense, so there was no provision for a review.

But if there was a natural anxiety that the dismissal of South Africa’s rock would precipitate a collapse, Sune Luus and Marizanne Kapp showed excellent temperament and technique to allay South African supporters’ fears as the pair batted throughout the rest of the session against the twin wiles of Ecclestone and offspinner Charlie Dean. Ecclestone, in particular, put in a disciplined performance, rarely straying in line and length and was eventually rewarded with the excellent figures of 1/40 off 25 overs. The pitch was still playing well for the batters, however, although the occasional ball turned and bounced or squatted low.

After tea, Kapp just had time to reach her second half-century in tests before she played inside a full delivery from England debutant Rayona MacDonald-Gay, and had her off-stump knocked out. Her aggressive 57 came in 74 balls and included 11 fours. She and the more cautious Luus had added 99 for the fourth wicket in 175 balls.

Luus, who had shown great patience in her knock of 56 in 148 balls, was eventually caught behind off England’s fastest bowler, Filer, and apart from Chloe Tryon’s breezy 20, the rest of the South African innings crumbled thereafter.

SOUTH AFRICA: Laura Wolvaardt (capt), Anneke Bosch, Annerie Dercksen, Sune Luus, Marizanne Kapp, Nadine de Klerk, Chloe Tryon, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Tumi Sekhukhune, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Ayanda Hlubi

ENGLAND: Tammy Beaumont, Maia Bouchier, Heather Knight (capt). Nat Sciver-Brunt, Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Amy Jones (wk), Charlie Dean, Sophie Ecclestone, Ryana MacDonald-Gay, Lauren Filer, Lauren Bell.