Only Proteas’ best will do against winning machine Aussies in World Cup semi

Think trying to defeat Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City or Pitso Mosimane’s Mamelodi Sundowns for an idea of the monumental task awaiting the Proteas in the T20 World Cup semifinal against Australia on Thursday.

In cricket right now — regardless of gender — there’s no bigger challenge than trying to beat the Australian women’s team.

Their dominance isn’t a recent occurrence. Of the eight previous Women’s T20 World Cups, Australia have won six, with their overall winning percentag at 81.25%. Even Guardiola and Mosimane would be impressed. 

“It’s easy to get swept away by what Australia has achieved,” South African captain Laura Wolvaardt said on the eve of the playoff match at Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

Besides that record, the Australians have dominated encounters with South Africa, winning nine out of their 10 matches. The Proteas have also only once made more than 150 against them — and lost. 

But Wolvaardt is correctly, not focused on that. Instead, she’s pointing to that one win, in Canberra this year, as a vital marker for her team. “The last time we faced them in a World Cup we’d never beaten them in our history, which is not a nice thing coming into a knockout game.”

That encounter was the final of last year’s tournament in a sold-out Newlands. Despite her team’s form being patchy since then, it is the victory in the Australian capital — in which they successfully chased 144, with Wolvaardt making an unbeaten 58 — to which she wants the players to cling. 

“If we play a good game of cricket, we have the talent to beat them. We showed that in the one T20 in which we did so. T20 cricket can be crazy, and if we keep it simple, focus on ourselves, we can do anything on the day.”

Wolvaardt and fellow opener Tazmin Brits will be crucial in that quest. Both are among the leading five run-scorers at this year’s tournament — with Brits top of the pile — and against an Australian batting line-up with so much depth, both have to maintain the consistency they’ve maintained hitherto in the competition. 

Australia have lost fast bowler Tayla Vlaeminck for the rest of the tournament, and there are doubts about the readiness of skipper Alyssa Healy who hurt her foot against Pakistan. She attended the last group match with India, wearing a “moon boot” and walked with crutches. 

Nevertheless, as they showed against India, Australia’s depth is the envy of the rest of the world, and they were still able to keep Harmanpreet Kaur’s side at arm’s length in claiming a nine-run win. 

In Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Ashleigh Gardner and Megan Schutt they have three veteran players who have been part of numerous successes, while all-rounder Phoebe Litchfield is among a talented young core that plays without fear. 

South Africa are certainly underdogs, and the value of staying tight as a unit has been emphasised in team meetings since their semifinal spot was secured.

Wolvaardt pointed to the motivational techniques used by Paul Adams, the spin bowling coach, as relieving some of the stress she’s endured throughout the tournament. “One of the hardest parts of the job is finding something new to say every single game, and luckily he’s come up with something really creative and really new,” she said.

“At every meeting he’s got videos about birds that fly together and teamwork and sticking together, today we had a video about ebbs and flows. He’s very creative, he’s been really great for the group. We’ve needed someone to pump us up and bring a fun element, which has been huge as well.”