England crush Proteas to seal series

South Africa only managed 168-6 in their chase of 205.

November 28, 2024

Lebohang Pita 2 minutes read

Captain Laura Wolvaardt leads the Proteas onto the field. Behind her is Tumi Sekhune while England skipper Heather Knight chats to a youngster.

The Proteas women only had themselves to blame after a poor bowling and fielding display saw the England women crush them by 36 runs in the second T20 at Willowmoore Park yesterday (November 27), sealing the three-match series with a game to spare.

After losing the opening fixture in East London on Sunday, it was SA’s last chance to save the series. A month after reaching their second T20 World Cup final, losing the series was the last thing they wanted.

Sophia Dunkley passes the Proteas as they celebrate after she was bowled by Ayanda Hlubi.

On the other hand, the tourists also wanted to put the ghosts of that tournament on the subcontinent behind them, and they did so brilliantly. A powerful batting display, aided by 11 overs that went for double digits and three-dropped catches, powered them to victory.

Batting first, half-tons from opener Danni Wyatt-Hodge, who became the first English woman to score 3000 T20I runs, and Nat Sciver-Brunt drove England to 204/4 before Sarah Glenn strangled the hosts with 4/30, restricting them to 168/6.

Ayanda Hlubi acknowledges the crowd after taking two wickets in one over.

The Proteas’ response got off badly as they slipped to 1-1 in the opening over when opener Taznim Brits sliced Sciver-Brunt to Charlie Dean at mid-wicket to silence the party inside the stadium.

Captain Laura Wolvaardt and Faye Tunnicliffe, playing her first international match in three years, struggled against some disciplined England bowling and only managed 30/1 inside the first six overs before Tunnicliffe was bowled by Glenn for 22 off 28 in the eighth over with the score 43/2.

Annerie Dercksen brought life to the venue with back-to-back maximums off Freya Kemp in the following over and Wolvaardt (25) did the same with successive boundaries in the 10th over before slicing Dean to the fielder at short third man.

With the score 66/3, Chloe Tryon and Dercksen were expected to build a big partnership but Glenn had other ideas when she bowled Dercksen and Nondumiso Shangase off successive deliveries as SA slumped to 86/5.

Although Tryon (30 off 24), Naidine de Klerk (32 not out) and Sinalo Jafta (17 not out) cleared the ropes at the back end of the innings, the required rate was too high and so SA fell short by 36 runs.

Earlier, the Proteas won the toss and elected to field and that proved to be a correct decision thanks to seamer Ayanda Hlubi’s double strike in the second over.

Some fans show their support to the ladies.

Having been hit for back-to-back fours by Maia Bouchier (9), Hlubi hit back as she had the batter caught at mid-wicket by Brits and then bowled Sophia Dunkley for a second-ball duck to reduce them to 15-2.

But that was it from the hosts as Wyatt-Hodge and Sciver-Brunt put on the brakes with 112 for the third wicket.

Wyatt-Hodge, dropped two times, top-scored with 75 off 45 before falling to De Klerk in the 13 over but captain

Heather Knight (26 off 19) continued the rout as she combined with Sciver-Brunt for a 54-run fourth-wicket partnership.

Fans enjoy the match from grass embankment.

Sciver-Brunt brought up her 50 with successive deliveries off Eliz-Mari Marx in the 16th over while Knight was caught and bowled by De Klerk in the 19th over, but England was well on track to breach the 200-run mark.

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