Snehasis Mukherjee in Dubai
The first semi-final of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup is upon us. Today, Australia face South Africa at the Dubai International Stadium. The Aussies are undefeated so far. The Proteas women have won all three games at this stadium.
Both teams have quality players across all departments. However, one key battle will be between South Africa’s opening pair and Australia’s bowlers. Laura Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits, South Africa’s openers, have been the most successful partnership of the tournament. They have scored 237 runs in four innings, averaging 79.00 with a strike-rate of 117.91.
In the pre-match press conference yesterday, Wolvaardt spoke about their successful partnership. “We complement each other, and her (Brits) running between the wickets is also good,” she said. Interestingly, before this tournament, their partnership was a concern. Between the start of the year and this tournament, they had scored only 305 runs in 11 innings, averaging 27.72. Eight other opening pairs performed better.
In the UAE, however, both Wolvaardt and Brits have adapted well. They have played their shots by quickly adjusting to the conditions and using the depth of crease, especially against the spinners. Whether playing in Dubai or Sharjah, they have built solid foundations for the middle order. South Africa’s star all-rounder, Nadine de Klerk, echoed this in an interview with RevSportz.
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“Our batters have actually done really well, and we have that depth,” said de Klerk. “We have two of the leading run-scorers in the tournament in our side. In the last couple of years, our batting department has not really been consistent. Here, things have been different, and we have been consistent in all our games.”
Brits is the tournament’s top scorer with 155 runs in four innings, averaging 51.66 at a strike-rate of 105.44. Wolvaardt is fourth with 148 runs, averaging 49.33 at a strike rate of 111.27.
Individually, Wolvaardt and Brits have also been successful against Australia. Wolvaardt has 210 runs in six innings against them, averaging 52.50 with a strike-rate of 116.66. Brits has 155 runs from five innings, averaging 38.75 and striking at 111.51. They will be key for South Africa today. For Australia, early wickets are crucial.
Spinners have been more successful in Dubai, taking 66 wickets in 10 matches. Wolvaardt has been dismissed by spinners three times in this tournament, and Brits twice. So, Australia could turn to Sophie Molineux and Ashleigh Gardner early in the powerplay to try and break this key Proteas partnership.