Proteas captain Laura Wolvaardt and Marizanne Kapp delivered sensational performances to steer South Africa to its first ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup final.
The Proteas shocked England in the semi-final by 125 runs after batting first and scoring 319 for the loss of seven wickets, with Wolvaardt hitting 169. Kapp then took five wickets for just 20 runs as England were bowled out for just 194.
Wolvaardt showed her intent from the word go and hit the first two balls of the Protea innings to the fence. She hit her first World Cup century from 115 balls, hitting 12 fours in the process.
After that, she took the game by the scruff of the neck and hit her next 68 runs from just 28 balls.
Wolvaardt smashed 4 sixes and another 8 fours in this period. She was ably assisted by opening partner Tasmin Britz, who contributed 45 while Kapp scored a rapid 42 from just 33 balls.
Kapp then went on to rip the heart out of the England top order, taking two wickets in the first over of England’s batting effort.
England staged some sort of recovery, taking the score to 138 for the loss of 4 wickets before Kapp struck again. She took three more wickets, including two with successive balls and in the same fashion.
After that, it was just a matter of time before the match was wrapped up in South Africa’s favour.
