Zaahier Adams
As the final of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup unfolded last night under the Dubai floodlights, it was tempting to wonder if any senior Proteas team would ever win a major global tournament.
Three finals. Three defeats now. That’s the cumulative record of the Proteas’ Women’s and Men’s teams over the past 18 months.
Laura Wolvaardt’s team were betrayed by nerves, with New Zealand totally outclassing the Proteas by 32 runs to add their name to the elite list of previous winners: Australia, England, and the West Indies.
The match could not have gone more right for one side or more wrong for the other. New Zealand were controlled with the ball, assertive with the bat, and their catching in the deep was impressive too.
New Zealand’s Men’s team, the Black Caps, had suffered a power failure to Australia in this same colosseum in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final only three years ago. The White Ferns were intent not to make the same mistakes.
From the very first over, the Kiwis showed their intent through youngster Georgia Plimmer. The 20-year-old took two boundaries off Marizanne Kapp’s opener, clobbering the Proteas veteran over mid-wicket before pulling powerfully through the leg-side.
It looked particularly ominous when Plimmer charged Ayabonga Kaka’s first delivery too, walloping it over midwicket for another boundary. However, the rookie’s enthusiasm got the better of her when Plimmer tried to repeat the punishment. This time, she went high instead of far and found Sune Luus on the deep mid-wicket fence.
World Cup finals are won by experience, though. In Suzie Bates (170), Amelia Kerr (84), and Brooke Halliday (40), there’s a sum total of 294 T20 International caps.
Bates dropped anchor with a solid 31 runs from 32 balls (3x4), with the comfort of knowing Kerr (43 off 38 balls, 4x4) and Halliday (38 off 28 balls, 3x4) were providing the firepower from the other end. The 57-run partnership between Kerr and Halliday during the middle period particularly hurt the Proteas as it set up an onslaught at the end.
Wolvaardt was not helped by the fact that her bowling unit, who had been remarkable throughout the tournament, chose the worst possible time to not only lose their lines and lengths but also their discipline. The Proteas were guilty of three no-balls and 10 wides that significantly eased the pressure on the Kiwis.
This left the Proteas needing to achieve a record-breaking run-chase in a T20 Women’s Cup final. Truth be told, they were never really close to achieving the feat.
Dependent, probably overdependent, on Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits for a vibrant start, the opening pair attacked the powerplay in a bid to bite chunks of the 159-run target. Wolvaardt seemed to have the bit between her teeth as she flooded the leg-side with a couple of early boundaries, powering the Proteas to 47/0 when the fielding restrictions drew to a close.
But with the pitch slowing down and New Zealand’s spinners starting to make a bigger impact, the runs began to dry up, leading to Brits (17) holing out in the deep to Fran Jones.
It was left to Player of the Tournament, Amelia Kerr, to drive the dagger through the Proteas’ hearts when she had Wolvaardt (33 off 27 balls, 5x4) caught in the covers.
From that moment, it became a procession, with even star allrounder Kapp unable to make an impact with the bat as Kerr took control of proceedings to finish with the excellent figures of 3/24. Rosemary Mair provided solid support with 3/25.
The Proteas were once again left with plenty to ponder about what they could have done better. Unfortunately, on the night, it was plenty, as they simply did not pitch up when it mattered most, with a plethora of basic errors leaving their dream in tatters.