The memory goes back to a rain-marred ODI at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. India Women needed one of their batters to negate the new-ball threat. But within 10 overs, everything had gone pear-shaped for the hosts. Marizanne Kapp, the South African colossus, ran through the top order and finished with figures of 4 for 21. Explore that performance further and you will see how she located the right line and length for the conditions from the very first ball. No wonder she accounted for the prized scalps of both Smriti Mandhana and Mithali Raj.
Time flies. Almost a decade has passed since that truncated game. And Kapp, now 35, stands on the verge of powering her side to their maiden 50-over World Cup triumph. She still possesses all the tools to dent India, their opponents in the final. Just a few days ago, Kapp provided an exhibition of her weaponry by ripping through England’s top order in the semi-final.
Amy Jones was undone by a quintessential nip-backer from Kapp, while Heather Knight succumbed to an offering that shaped away just enough. The keynote to Kapp’s bowling, though, was how she homed in on the right areas from ball one. Even before the 2025 Women’s World Cup, 66 of her ODI wickets had come in the Powerplay, a clear indicator of her prowess with the new ball.
She has also dismissed India’s batting trio of Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues a total of nine times in ODIs. Dig deeper, and Kapp would certainly be eyeing that nip-backer against Harmanpreet. The matchup between the two strengthens that point, as the India skipper has been dismissed LBW or bowled on three of the four occasions she has fallen to Kapp in the 50-over format.
Kapp’s contributions to South Africa can’t just be restricted to her bowling; she is also a fine middle-order batter. It’s true she hasn’t exactly been the fulcrum of South Africa’s batting efforts in this World Cup, but Kapp did play timely hands against Bangladesh and England respectively.
In the last three years, she has averaged close to 55 with the bat in ODIs. The legendary all-rounder spoke about how she upskilled her batting to the writer in an exclusive interview: “I always enjoyed my batting,” she said. “Back then, when I started with the South African team, I obviously opened the bowling, but I batted in the top four as well. You almost played back to back, batting in the top order and bowling your 10 overs every single game.
So, what was the watershed moment in her batting journey? “That 150 I scored against England in Taunton (in a Test match) really gave me a lot of confidence,” said Kapp. “I started working out with Kruger van Wyk. He is currently with the South African men’s team as the fielding coach.
“He took me for a few batting sessions; we worked on upping the intensity when I am training. It is probably just a shift in mindset. Then I started working with Baakier Abrahams (‘Bakes’); he is currently our batting coach. He stays in Port Elizabeth, where I am from. So, it is about changing the mindset, opening up a few options and not being one-dimensional,” she added.
Kapp’s competitive spirit also seems to lift those around her. Just consider her double-fist pump after dismissing Knight in the semi-final, the kind of celebration that injected infectious energy into the camp. To summarise, Kapp is the heartbeat of this South African side, and her teammates will once again look up to their charismatic leader to lay down the marker against India, as always, with her very first ball.
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