Faye Tunnicliffe made a half-century as the Proteas Women again proved too strong for Ireland, beating the tourists by 65 runs in the second T20 international at Boland Park in Paarl on Sunday afternoon.
The Irish could not chase the Proteas’ 202 target, replying with 136 for three to ensure the home team clinched the series 2-0 with a game to spare.
SA won the opening match by 105 runs on Friday.
Irish openers Amy Hunter and Gaby Lewis started slowly in pursuit of the mammoth target.
They immediately fell behind the required run rate of 10 an over in the power play, managing just 33 in those six overs.
Sune Luus, Ayabonga Khaka and Marizanne Kapp kept things tight with the ball as they made it hard for the openers to push the rate higher.
The pressure got to both openers and they fell to spinner Chloe Tryon in the sixth over.
Hunter was bowled for 14 while Lewis was trapped leg before wicket for 19.
Orla Prendergast and Leah Paul tried to rescue the visitors’ chase, and they combined for 76 runs until Paul had her stumps rattled by spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba for 40 from 29 balls.
In the end, Prendergast finished with an unbeaten 51 runs. That fifty was her ninth in women’s T20s.
Earlier, Proteas skipper Laura Wolvaardt won the toss and elected to bat first. It was a decision she got spot on.
The top and middle order ticked boxes in terms of getting runs individually, how they controlled the run rate and their finishing at the death.
The top six all got into double figures as they totalled 201 for five, the highest score in Paarl for women in T20s.
It was 28 more than the previous best of 173 that came in the Women’s T20 World Cup game between Australia and New Zealand in 2023.
Tunnicliffe and Luus were impressive in the batting powerplay as they punished anything wayward.
They shared a 78-run stand for the opening wicket, with Luus the aggressor.
She would eventually fall in the ninth over to the bowling of Aimee Maguire, caught at backward point by Rebecca Stokell for 37 off 24 balls.
Tunnicliffe and Wolvaardt kept their foot on the accelerator.
They combined and added a quick stand of 38.
In that passage of play, wicketkeeper-batter Tunnicliffe notched her maiden T20 half-century.
Her delight would quickly turn into despair in the 13th over as she was trapped leg before wicket by Maguire for 51 off 42.
In the same over, Maguire accounted for the scalp of Wolvaardt, caught behind by Hunter for 22.
Dané van Niekerk and Kapp put together a quick 55-run partnership to stretch the total.
Van Niekerk operated at a strike rate of more than 200 while clubbing a quick-fire 41 runs off 19.
She was eventually dismissed by Arlene Kelly in the 17th over.
Kapp followed to the dressing room in the 18th over for 16, bowled by Prendergast.
Tryon finished with an unbeaten 16.
Maguire was Ireland’s best bowler with three wickets for 43.
The third match is in Benoni on Wednesday (6pm).
Herald
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