After de-Kapp-itating England, Proteas’ attention turns to final

At the end of a training session, two days before her team’s Women’s World Cup semifinal with England, Marizanne Kapp broke down and cried.

“I had one of the worst training sessions in the last 10 years of my career,” said Kapp.

It wasn’t a good session for a lot of the others either, she added, describing batters getting out four or five times. Head coach Mandla Mashimbyi had to intervene. “He just made us feel more relaxed and after being so frantic the day before, it was different [at Tuesday’s] team meeting.”

By the morning of Wednesday’s game, everyone was calm. “We didn’t speak about the game. We obviously knew what we had to do — and it went our way today.”

It certainly did, with the Proteas emerging emphatic winners by 125 runs against an England team that a month ago had bowled them out for 69 at the same ground in Guwahati.

“Once we lost the toss, I was happy we batted first, just based on the stats of this ground … They probably thought they would roll us over like they did in the first game.”

Many ex-England players thought the same. Instead, South Africa’s two best players produced performances of bewildering quality to punch the Proteas’ ticket to the World Cup final.

Laura Wolvaardt’s imperious 169 and Kapp’s furious display with the ball, in which she claimed a second ODI five-wicket haul, shattered England and gave South Africa wings.

“We played one of our best World Cup matches today.”

This is Kapp’s fifth ODI World Cup tournament and though she hasn’t said so, it may well be her last.

“I haven’t had the best World Cup. Ahead of this game, I knew I was due [a strong performance]. Wolvie was brilliant, she is so consistent. Having been here for so many years, ultimately that is what wins you semis and World Cups. In the past semifinals I haven’t been at my best, I haven’t contributed the way I should have. I’m really happy that tonight I could make a difference in this result.

“The love of the sport — it’s why we play. I absolutely love playing for South Africa.”

As Wolvaardt had done with the quality of her batting, which reached ludicrous levels, so Kapp produced deliveries that can best be classed as unplayable. Amy Jones had no chance with the second delivery of the England innings that zipped into her off the pitch and then through her defence.

It was the same for the England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt, who was dragging her team back into the contest with a hard-fought 64 but got a ball from Kapp that nipped away just enough to kiss the outside edge.

“Personally I was a bit more relaxed when I got [Sciver-Brunt] out,” she said.

Sunday’s final is the fulfilment of one part of Kapp’s lifelong dream. It will be her third World Cup final, her first in the ODI format. But amid the celebrations in the changeroom afterwards — that included a video call with her wife, Dane van Niekerk — she took heed of Mashimbyi’s words.

“We are so blessed to get past the semifinals. We’ll celebrate tonight — but as coach said, the job’s not done yet.”