Laura Wolvaardt and Marizanne Kapp - South Africa’s best two players - produced majestic performances in what was hitherto the most important match of the tournament, to fire the Proteas into a first ICC Women’s World Cup final.
Wolvaardt reached stratospheric levels to deliver one of the great innings by a South African player in a World Cup, scoring 169 to propel her side to a total of 319/7 at Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati, India. Kapp matched her captain’s quality with the ball, to claim 5/20, as South defeated England by 125 runs in Wednesday’s semifinal.
Wolvaardt described her innings as “unreal” - which was apt, because seldom has a knock in such a vital match featured batting of such breathtaking quality.
It started with a Wolvaardt cover drive - off the first ball. Everyone knows the kind; all high elbow, full faced, flowing elegance, with the back knee bent.
There were a few more, which established a rhythm for her batting, that remained even when she dropped a couple of gears and had to absorb periods of pressure created by England’s Sophie Ecclestone. Then came glorious acceleration in the last 10 overs, when she delivered several thunderous strikes - maintaining that serene elegance throughout - to drive South Africa beyond the 300-mark.
“I wanted to get to the 40th over, and then really hand over to Annerie, Chloe and Nadine, but I was still out there and just felt like I should have a swing,” Wolvaardt said.
“Have a swing” sounds so unedifying to describe what Wolvaardt did in those last 10 overs when her efforts saw the Proteas score 117 runs. She pounded the midwicket and long-on boundaries with graceful shots and littered the off-side with the signature cover drives, both along the ground and through the air.
Partnerships, she said, were vital. After being put in to bat by Nat Sciver-Brunt - no doubt wanting to open the wounds from the opening match between the sides at the same venue a month ago - Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits shared a partnership of 116, their first century stand of the tournament.
Brits produced enough hits amid several misses to reach 45 but ended up in a tangle trying to reverse sweep Ecclestone. That was the first mini-slide of the innings, with South Africa losing three wickets for three runs in 16 balls.
Wolvaardt went through what she described as a dip but, fortunately, the experienced Kapp kept the scoreboard ticking with a typically aggressive 42 off 33 balls. That 72-run partnership was critical and even when Ecclestone returned to dismiss Kapp and Annerie Dercksen, the momentum she’d created had put the innings back on course.
Then Wolvaardt started the fireworks, striking the ball with authority, but artistic wonder, reaching her first World Cup hundred and then eventually finishing with the second-highest score in a World Cup knockout match. It wasn’t lost on anyone that Wolvaardt’s final score was exactly 100 runs more than her team managed in that opening match she wanted the players to forget.
Twenty fours and four sixes will make for a highlight reel that should be on display in a gallery - there’s a joint in Paris which has some extra room.
Having already delivered a vital intervention with the bat, Kapp then ended the match as a contest with the ball. Her second delivery was a devilish in-ducker that bamboozled Amy Jones and lit up the middle and off-stumps. She also bowled Heather Knight off the bottom-edge and when Ayabonga Khaka had Tammy Beaumont caught behind in the second over, the Proteas were in dreamland.
Sciver-Brunt raised England’s hopes with a half-century, but Kapp came back for her second spell and produced a jaffer that left the England captain off the pitch, nudged the outside edge to give Sinalo Jafta an easy catch.
“She was phenomenal,” Wolvaardt said of the 35-year-old.
The five-wicket haul, the second of her stellar career, adds to Kapp’s legend. SA, who’ve played in the last two T20 World Cup finals, will go in search of the ODI title on Sunday.
“It’s very special,” said the Proteas captain. “Everyone is really excited. Having lost to this opponent in two previous editions in the semis, it really hurt the group. I’m just really pleased to get the win tonight.”
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