The Proteas can secure their place in the Women’s World Cup semi-finals with a win over the West Indies in Wellington on Thursday.
South Africa suffered their first loss of the competition on Tuesday after four straight wins when Australia chased down the Proteas’ 271-5 thanks to Meg Lanning’s 135* off 130 balls.
Proteas opening batter Laura Wolvaardt recorded her fourth consecutive score of 50 or more – 90 off 134 balls – to become the tournament’s leading run-scorer with 350 in five innings before Lanning’s second-innings display.
“We are still pretty confident,” Proteas captain Sune Luus said on Wednesday. “Obviously, yesterday didn’t go the way we planned, but that is cricket. Tomorrow, we have a great opportunity to rectify some things we didn’t do as well yesterday, secure that semi-final spot and just play good cricket.”
The Proteas have a good recent ODI record against the West Indies, having won a series 2-1 in Johannesburg in January. They also claimed a 4-1 series win in the Caribbean last September.
“That series [in SA] helped us a lot in preparing for the game tomorrow,” said Luus. “We know all their players pretty well and we know what their gameplan is going to be. It is just for us to stick to our gameplans and keep doing the basics right, and to make sure we are very clinical tomorrow.”
One of the key factors in the Proteas’ World Cup success has been the batting partnerships between Wolvaardt and Luus.
The pair have amassed 341 runs in the past four matches when at the crease together, recording stabilising and sometimes gamechanging stands for their side. They began with an 89-run partnership against Pakistan, followed by 73 and 88 against England and New Zealand, respectively.
In the last match, the pair combined for 91 runs to take the game to Australia to become the most profitable duo in the tournament with the bat.
“We have a great understanding in the middle,” Luus said regarding the pair’s success. “We trust each other between the wicket with the running and we are just batting well together at the moment.
“Laura is world class. I know she always measures herself against Meg Lanning or some of the greatest batters in the world, but I think she is up there as well, and you always have to remember she is only 22 and she is breaking records already.
“She has been phenomenal, and she has been the glue for our batting lineup.”
Thursday’s match will start at midnight (SA time) and be broadcast on SuperSport Grandstand.
The Proteas’ final match of the league phase is against India in Christchurch on Sunday.
