Australia put squeeze on South Africa in T20 World Cup

Annesha Ghosh | February 19, 2023

A disciplined showing from Australia’s seven-pronged attack, headed by Georgia Wareham’s 2-18 and coupled with fine fielding, has restricted South Africa to 6-124 in their T20 World Cup clash.

For the only undefeated side in Group 1, the target on Saturday didn’t look problematic even in the absence of their top scorer Alyssa Healy, who was out with quad soreness.

According to a Cricket Australia statement, Healy had been ruled out “with some left quad awareness following a high workload on return to play from a significant calf injury.”

Annabel Sutherland was instead named in the team, with Tahlia McGrath doing the vice-captaincy duties and Ellyse Perry replacing her as opener.

A win again against the hosts at St George’s Park in Gqeberha will send the defending champions into the semi-finals.

Sutherland, playing her first match of this edition of the World Cup, could have had a wicket as early as her third ball of the night after Meg Lanning asked the South Africans to bat.

But Wareham, stationed at short midwicket, shelled a straightforward catch off a Laura Wolvaardt pull, handing the opener a lifeline on 13.

The 23-year-old could, however, add only another six runs to her tally as Perry got her to nick a length ball.

Beth Mooney, shouldering wicketkeeping duties in Healy’s absence, snared it with ease to break the run-a-ball 54-run opening stand.

Wolvaardt’s wicket triggered a top-order collapse, with South Africa losing four wickets in 18 balls for just 23 runs.

Returning for her second and final spell, Darcie Brown elicited a thick edge off first-drop Marizanne Kapp in the 11th over that handed Mooney her second catch of the night.

Wareham then played her part with aplomb in the South African slide.

In a double-wicket 12th over from the 23-year-old legspinner, she first grazed the legstump of Tazmin Brits, the opener’s bid to shuffle across to access the leg side coming a cropper just five short of a maiden international fifty.

Four balls later, she had No. 5 Chloe Tryon caught by Alana King at short-midwicket.

South Africa’s next best partnership was worth only 23 runs, between Sune Luus and Nadine de Klerk.

That stand ended with Gardner making Luus her 50th T20I victim in the last over of the innings. 

The South Africa captain lost her leg stump sashaying down the track for an across-the-line heave.

De Klerk’s enterprising 13-ball 14 gave a semblance of respectability to South Africa’s total.