South Africa has only beaten Australia twice in the women’s game. Both wins have come this year, one each in the T20I and ODI formats. South African skipper Laura Wolvaardt draws great confidence from those two results, but a sense of deja vu prevails as her side heads for a repeat of last year’s summit clash in the first semifinal of the Women’s T20 World Cup at the Dubai International Stadium here on Thursday.
The head-to-head between these two teams has quite a small sample size, with the two nations only featuring in 10 T20Is against each other, seven of which have come in T20 World Cups. Australia has triumphed nine times against the Proteas, including a 19-run win in the T20 World Cup final in Cape Town last year.
Dubai has been a tricky turf for teams in this T20 World Cup. It witnessed a few major injuries (Australia and England). It’s seen major sides falter and fall off the grid (India albeit eventually and England again). Fielding has been an issue across the board in this tournament. However, the fact that two of the fittest teams and two impressive fielding sides come together in this clash will make for an interesting sight against the testing conditions here.
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South Africa won three of its four group games, falling to England in Sharjah in a seven-wicket thrashing. Australia is unbeaten at the T20 World Cup, not just in the group stage of this edition but since it clinched the title in 2020. Its imperious 15-game unbeaten streak will be an added bonus for the Proteas should they manage to get the better of the Aussies.
Wolvaardt identified the propensity of the middle order to fold when under pressure. Against New Zealand, while the top three began strongly, the mid-level of the batting spine crumbled without resistance. The Proteas will take notes and hope to prevent the same. But, the real challenge is to not allow the top order to settle. Beth Mooney, newly promoted Grace Harris and Ellyse Perry have been good with the bat and will eye a high score on the kinder batting tracks in the UAE capital.
Beth Mooney of Australia bats during the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 match between Australia and New Zealand at Sharjah Cricket Stadium. | Photo Credit: Getty Images
South Africa will take comfort in having played three out of its four group games here in Dubai. Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits, who had a great outing at this venue against West Indies, will hope for an encore.
In Megan Schutt and Marizanne Kapp, this fixture has two of the best pace bowling veterans in the women’s game, who also top the dot ball charts in the UAE (61 and 58 respectively).
Kapp and much of the senior core of both teams opted to rest on matchday eve, keeping workload management in mind. Alyssa Healy, who sat out the crucial group game against India, did not train ahead of the fixture and is being monitored on a day-to-day basis.
The winner of this fixture will meet the winner of the second semi-final between West Indies and New Zealand in the summit clash on Sunday.
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