Ayabonga Khaka leads improved bowling display as Proteas Women level series

The Proteas Women bounced back to level their T20 series with New Zealand on Tuesday, but some of the same concerns about the bowling remain.

South Africa reached 177/5 after choosing to bat at Seddon Park in Hamilton, with 20-year-old Kayla Reyneke smashing three sixes in the last over of the innings. That burst proved to be the difference as Ayabonga Khaka’s four-wicket haul along with Nonkululeko Mlaba’s 3/27 saw the White Ferns dismissed for 159.

Though Reyneke was named player of the match, it was the effect of the senior players that proved pivotal. Besides the bowlers, a 15th T20 International half-century by Tazmin Brits; a rapid start from Sune Luus, who made 31 off 21 balls; and skipper Laura Wolvaardt’s 41 off 33 deliveries provided a foundation for a winning total.

“It’s really nice to bounce back,” Wolvaardt said. “It was a much better performance overall. We showed great batting intent and we hit our plans with the ball.”

The bowlers took time to find their radar and once more the powerplay proved problematic for the Proteas, who conceded 63 runs in the first six overs. The dismissals of New Zealand captain Amelia Kerr, followed four balls later by that of veteran Sophie Devine, were vital as they slowed the home team’s scoring.

Another mini-collapse later that saw South Africa claim 3/7 in five balls, including two wickets for Khaka in the 13th over, gave the tourists control.

“Aya is a silent assassin. It was nice for her to perform like that because that is who we know. In the previous game she was a bit all over,” said Brits.

South Africa’s problems in the powerplay have been a long-running issue. The absence of a bowler with high pace and Mlaba’s preference to bowl outside the first six overs means the team doesn’t have a wicket-taking threat to start the innings.

Opponents are aware of that and have sought to attack that period, putting pressure on the Proteas, whose control of line and length in the opening two matches of the series has left them in an uphill battle. On Sunday they failed to find a solution but on Tuesday an improved strategy brought about a change in fortune.

“There wasn’t as much width as in the previous game, it was ‘liquorice allsorts’, but today we bowled a lot better,” said Brits.

Reyneke, meanwhile, continued to display her composure and is rapidly putting herself in the frame for World Cup selection. Her debut against Pakistan earlier this year was memorable, when she took two wickets and hit a six off the last ball to win that match in Potchefstroom. Tuesday’s hat-trick of sixes came off Devine, one of the great T20 players.

“It was pretty sick,” Reyneke acknowledged, after scoring 28 not out off nine balls.

The series moves to Auckland for the third match on Friday.

Dané van Niekerk will miss the remainder of the series after picking up a calf strain before the first match last Sunday. Anneke Bosch has been called into the squad as a replacement.

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