South Africa 189 for 4 (Wolvaardt 59*, de Klerk 48*) beaten England 186 (Dean 47*, Knight 40, Dercksen 3-16, Kapp 3-24) by six wickets
Versatile Marizanne Kapp And Annerie Dercksen were at the forefront as South Africa kicked off the women’s ODI series against England with a six-wicket victory in Kimberley. The duo shared six wickets between them as England were bowled out for 186. South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt then anchored the chase with an unbeaten 59, again aided by valuable cameos from Kapp, Dercksen and Nadine de Klerk as South Africa led 1-0 with 70 balls remaining in the three-match series.
Refreshed after being rested from the previous T20I series, Kapp picked up three wickets in her first four overs, reducing England to 29 for 3. This quickly became 77 for 5 and eventually 106 for 7 in the 26th over. But an eighth-wicket counterattack partnership of 67 off 64 between Charlie Dean And Sophie Ecclestone helped England reach a respectable total.
It looked like South Africa would make the chase easier when Tazmin’s Brits hit three fours in a Lauren Filer. But she was given some weight when a length ball from Lauren Bell hit her on the thigh after her failed sweep attempt. She wanted to review the call but Hawk-Eye was down and she couldn’t use DRS. However, South Africa found things easier against Bell and Filer, especially when they bowled the ball the longer lengths. They had raced to 38 for 1 after six overs when the spin was triggered.
Dean braked during the score and trapped Sune Luus lbw, who also could not review the decision with the DRS down, and returned visibly upset. At this point, with the up and down bounce exaggerated by the use of the heavy roller, the target seemed far away.
But Dercksen calmed the nerves by hitting three fours in his first eight balls. It helped South Africa regain control from England through Dean and Nat Sciver-Brunt and allowed Wolvaardt to play the waiting game. Dercksen and Wolvaardt added 54 for the third wicket before the former fell pulling a short ball from Filer straight to deep square leg, where Tammy Beaumont took a well-judged catch.
It was then that Kapp made his mark with the bat, scoring a run-a-ball 22 with three fours and a six. She first sliced Ecclestone past backward point before hitting Filer for a four and a six to help South Africa march towards the target. On the other side, Wolvaardt completed his half-century off 92 balls. Kapp fell with South Africa on 51, but Wolvaardt and de Klerk (48 not out from 28 balls) completed the formality, the latter hitting 11 fours, the most of any batter in the competition. Along the way, South Africa managed to keep Ecclestone wicketless for a period of ten in an ODI for the first time since March 2022
England were dealt an early blow with Maia Bouchier sent off after straining her neck while hitting the net. As a result, Sophia Dunkley teamed up with Beaumont at the top after electing to strike. Beaumont edged Kapp off the first ball she faced, but wicketkeeper Sinalo Jafta couldn’t hold on. Kapp and Jafta didn’t have to wait long for success as Dunkley tickled one to Jafta on the last ball of the first over.
Kapp continued to probe with the new ball and, along with Ayabonga Khaka, managed to string together a row of 11 runs before Beaumont decided to change gear. She instructed Khaka to take her over mid-wicket and walked past Claire Taylor to become England’s second highest scorer in women’s ODIs and enter the list of top ten scorers in this format. But her joy was short-lived when, in the aftermath, she charged towards Kapp but was beaten inside to be played. Danni Wyatt-Hodge continued from where she left off in the T20Is and hit a few balls before being trapped in front by de Klerk.
Amy Jones then helped England recover briefly as spin came into play. But Dercksen, in only her second ODI, preferred here ahead of the more experienced Anneke Boschstruck quite early leading to Jones mis-shooting towards deep square leg towards the back where Chloe Tryon took a superb diving catch. Nonkululeko Mlaba, who suffered an injury scare after twisting her ankle early in the match, then trapped Alice Capsey lbw.
Heather Knight took her time and tried to measure the area. She hit five fours during her innings, often using her feet even against the seamers. But his paddle attempt against Mlaba proved to be his downfall.
At this stage, England appeared to be folding cheaply, but Dean and Ecclestone combined to form England’s third-best partnership for the eighth wicket in ODIs. It was only when de Klerk took a fine jumping catch at backward point after Ecclestone mistimed a short, slow ball from Dercksen that the partnership ended.
This effort was not enough to prevent a first defeat on the tour of England, who were playing an international match at the Kimberley Oval for the first time.
