In both the SA team's thumping defeats in the first round, the top order collapsed and the rest of the line-up crumbled.
The Proteas women were incredible on Wednesday. The question is: Can they do it again?
The national side have been superb at the Women’s Cricket World Cup, highlighted by their 125-run win over England in their semifinal in Guwahati.
They have been inconsistent, however, and when the wheels come off, they tend to do so in a big way.
We have seen them demolish some teams, and we’ve seen them dig deep at the death to snatch impressive victories. But in the round-robin stage of the tournament, we also saw them being completely crushed by England and Australia.
In the final, they’re going to need to be at their best in every facet of the game.
Specialist batters need to shine
The lower half of their line-up have been great, saving the team on a couple of occasions, and the bowlers have been consistent.
The most inconsistent players in the squad have been the specialist batters, and they will need to stand up in the trophy contest against hosts India on Sunday. It is going to be absolutely crucial.
In both the SA team’s thumping defeats in the first round, the top order collapsed and the rest of the line-up crumbled.
The frustrating thing is that the batters in the squad (especially the top-order players) are brilliant. When they hit their straps, with solid lower-order players to back them up and a useful bowling attack, the Proteas can beat any team in the world.
The batters have displayed great form in recent months, but they do have a tendency to let the team down, as we’ve seen on multiple occasions.
Maintaining their composure
In their semifinal, we saw what happens when openers Laura Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits get them off to a good start. It boosts the entire team and they tend to shine.
And if one of the openers is dismissed early, the likes of Suné Luus, Anneke Bosch, Marizanne Kapp and Sinalo Jafta need to maintain their composure.
If the batters fall apart, they will not be able to rely on lower-order players to put up a fight at the death. Not in a World Cup final.
At the previous edition of the World Cup, in 2022, the Proteas lost two early wickets and never recovered against England in the semifinals.
Having overcome that disappointment by thumping the same opposition in the penultimate round this week, they have proved they have the ability to go all the way.
Should the batters stand up again, the Proteas women will be hard to beat, and they will put themselves in a position to win South Africa’s first World Cup cricket title.
