South Africa v England – Third ODI
JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom
Pre-Match
The last of three ODIs had its own importance. Apart from deciding the outcome of this format, it would give the selectors a last chance to assess their options for the test match.
Jon Lewis took the long view: Lauren Filer was saved up, replaced by Lauren Bell. It meant that the three quicks each figured twice on the ODIs.
With four changes the Proteas looked far less settled; none of the newcomers, Lara Goodall, Anneke Bosch, Mieke de Ridder and Masabata Klaas, in the first bloom of youth.
The Match
English followers learned that weather isn’t restricted to their country. This turned into the proverbial game of two halves – with a dramatically long interval.
The action started early. Laura Wolvaardt hit Kate Cross’ third ball to the cover boundary. The fifth saw Cross fall awkwardly; she was helped off the field. Much later we heard she had suffered a back spasm and would take no further part. Alice Capsey bowled the final ball and had to take on the role of fifth bowler.
Though she was rather expensive, she took two of the top five wickets to prove her worth. Lauren Bell started with two wides to reawaken doubts about her place in the test, but she came back to bowl thoroughly well.
Sophie Ecclestone was even more stingy than usual (10-1-26-2), and Nat Sciver-Brunt kept asking questions with her variations. She and Charlie Dean produced two successive maidens in the 1th and 12th.
Wolvaardt and Lara Goodall now constructed their team’s best start of the series. They put on 50 in under ten overs. but Bell, Capsey and Dean chipped away.
Kapp and De Klerk had been cruising along when they attempted a risky single. Amy Jones’ brilliance ensured a DRS verdict in England’s favour. 135-4
For the rest, the Proteas accumulated quietly. The first eight batters all made double figures, but only the captain (61) and Marizanne Kapp (38) caused the bowlers concern. I mention Wolvaardt’s award lower down, but her performance today merely accentuated her right to it.
Ecclestone hit her on a pad and shouted. The big wicket fell only because DRS left the decision to the onfield umpire who had raised a finger. How many would South Africa make from there? A few hours earlier, India had crumbled disastrously from 189-3 to 215 all out in Perth.
165-5 after 32 overs should have been the launch-pad for a daunting total; could they get near 300? Mieke de Ridder and Nonkululeko Mlaba did add 32 useful runs, but the bowlers finished on top. The tail-enders had their moments; Mlaba clubbed Dean for two consecutive fours, but Masabata Klaas fell limply for 0.
At that stage we weren’t to know the dramas that would follow.
The Reply
This should really read “The Big Wait”. A thunderstorm broke over the ground. By the time the super sopper had done its dry shave, England had 23 overs in which to score 152. A proper ODI had become another short-term slog. Lightning flashes were still visible in the distance at the restart.
Strange how the side batting second always seems to suffer from DLS’s decision. It certainly looked that way as Kapp once more proved what an outstanding cricketer she is. Maia Bouchier lasted three balls, then, even more dramatically, Nat Sciver-Brunt holed out to her second delivery. England 4-2 in the first over! That’s when you can feel far from home. At least Tammy Beaumont looked at home, but her captain became Kapp’s third victim with barely 25 runs on the board. It looked for all the world like a 2-1 win for the Proteas.
Danni Wyatt-Hodge had a point to prove: she had just been announced as ICC’s Player of the Month for November. She built a partnership with Beaumont, but with the total on 63 she played one unwise sweep too many to Chloe Tryon, and DRS refused to defend her. England still needed 89.
Enter Amy Jones. She’d already earned her spurs with another fine example of the keeper’s art, but now she joined the bubbling Beaumont in a stand that carried all before it. Beaumont posted her 50 in the fifteenth over, and Jones almost followed suit at the end with two glorious fours off Nadine de Klerk. But she remained one short, as Beaumont closed proceedings with her tenth boundary. They had added 90 off 63 balls. So there’s something to be said for The Hundred.
De Klerk won’t remember her last over with pleasure: it went for fifteen runs.
What had looked like probable defeat turned into a confidence-boosting win for England. All that remains is to determine how serious Cross’ discomfort is, then sort out a test-winning XI. At least this match proved the value of depth, in bowling and batting. That is where the Proteas still fall short.
Teams
South Africa: 1 Laura Wolvaardt (captain), 2 Lara Goodall, 3 Annerie Bosch, 4 Annerie Dercksen, 5 Marizanne Kapp, 6 Nadine de Klerk 7 Chloé Tryon, 8 Mieke de Ridder (w-k), 9 Masabata Klaas, 10 Nonkululeko Mlaba, 11 Ayabonga Khaka
England: 1 Tammy Beaumont, 2 Maia Bouchier 3 Heather Knight (captain), 4 Nat Sciver-Brunt, 5 Danni Wyatt-Hodge, 6 Amy Jones (w-k), 7 Alice Capsey, 8 Sophie Ecclestone, 9 Charlie Dean, 10 Kate Cross, 11 Lauren Bell
Result:
South Africa 233 (Wolvaardt 61)
England 153-4 (Beaumont 65*, Jones 49*, Kapp 3-24) (19 overs – DLS method)
England won by six wickets, to take the series 2-1
Player of the Match: TT Beaumont
Player of the Series: CE Dean
Afterthoughts
Hypocaust’s invaluable stats reval that Ecclestone’s ODI figures this year are her best ever. One deduction: she has been inspired and challenged by the quality of the other spinners, most of all Charlie Dean.
In the hours before the game Laura Wolvaardt had been declared the world’s new No 1 ODI batter, displacing Nat Sciver-Brunt. NSB had even slipped to No 3 as Chamari Athapaththu now lay a single point ahead of her. Captaincy can lead to reduced performances for a batter; not so Wolvaardt.
Some cricketers claim they pay no attention to mere statistics.
