Proteas Women find new match winners after Nadine de Klerk inspires famous win

Heading into the World Cup, there may have been concerns about the over-reliance on the Proteas Women’s batting unit on a few players, namely Marizanne Kapp, Laura Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits. At times during the year, it seemed that if neither of the three batters performed, the team was doomed.

However, in a matter of days, this team has put those concerns to bed. Three matches into the ongoing ICC Women’s World Cup, a number of players have stepped up with the bat, including Sune Luus with the unbeaten 83 in the victory against New Zealand, and most recently Nadine de Klerk with her unforgettable 84 not out in the three-wicket victory over India in Visakhapatnam.

These performances seem to have instilled a refreshing level of confidence in the team, a feat that promises to carry them into the knockout stages of the tournament.

After conceding 98 runs in the last 10 overs against India on Thursday, some might have believed the game was over, especially when South Africa lost quick wickets and found themselves on 81/5. However, De Klerk revealed that they believed they could chase down the target, as long as they took the game as deep as possible.

“I think they batted quite well in the last 10 to get to a competitive total, but we still felt like it was probably par,” De Klerk said. “We knew with the dew and under lights it might become a bit better, but they bowled brilliantly, and we obviously lost the two wickets early.

“But I think we had a few partnerships. I think Laura and Chloe did well in the middle period, just to stick it out a little in that tough period. And I think it got much better later on with the seamers. So, we were pretty confident in chasing 250. I think we made it a bit harder for ourselves than we would have liked.”

The confidence stretches into the bowling attack, one that is led by two world-class spinners, the lefties Nonkululeko Mlaba and Tryon. The two broke India’s top order, and De Klerk praised them for it.

“We have two very good left-arm spinners. India has quite a right-handed dominant batting lineup. So I think Chloe and Mlaba did a brilliant job for us, especially in that middle period, so that we could restrict India to 250 at the end.

“But, like I said, it's always quite tough when the ball is turning away. Everybody prefers the ball coming back in. But you still have to nail it. You still have to bowl very well. And I think they bowled really well on that wicket.”

South Africa will be back in action for the fourth match of the 2025 ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup when they take on Bangladesh at the same venue on Monday.