A crucial 116-run opening partnership between Tazmin Brits and Laura Wolvaardt laid the platform for South Africa’s historic 125-run semi-final victory over England. That stand was the foundation for their massive 319-run total and first-ever final appearance.
England, having put South Africa in to bat, were frustrated for 23 overs by the pair. It took the intervention of an injured Sophie Ecclestone to finally break the stand, bowling Brits as she “nutmegged herself attempting the reverse sweep.”
Ecclestone then bowled Anneke Bosch for a duck, triggering a wobble. But the platform had been set, and Wolvaardt was not done.
The captain went on to make 169, exploding at the death with 69 runs off 28 balls. Without that initial 116-run stand, her late-innings heroics might not have been possible.
The total proved far too much for England, who were decimated by Marizanne Kapp (five for 20). They collapsed to one for three and were never in the hunt, thanks to the solid foundation laid by the Proteas’ openers.