SA vs ENG [W] 2024/25, South Africa Women vs England Women 3rd ODI, Potchefstroom Match Report, 11 December 2024

England 153 for 4 (Beaumont 65*, Jones 49*) beaten South Africa 233 for 8 (Wolvaardt 61) for six wickets – DLS

When Kapp then bowled Heather Knight with a whiff in her third over, England were reeling at 25 for 3. But Beaumont, displaying the even-keeled temperament that still makes her such a prized asset in ODI and Test cricket, refused to be intimidated by a climb. execution rate. She found key support, initially from Danni Wyatt-Hodge, who made 22 off 16 balls, and later from Jones, and the result was effectively sealed when Kapp’s final two overs were repelled with the order rate already falling below one run per ball.

The victory gave England a 2-1 victory in the ODI leg of their multi-format tour, having lost the opening match by the same six-wicket margin in Kimberley last week, and put the seal on their overall victory in the series before Sunday’s test. in Bloemfontein, having won the T20I leg with 3-0.

However, his task was not helped by a worrying incident in the opening, when Cross, still ahead after bowling his fifth ball, collapsed on the turf in visible pain. The physio helped her off the field, and Alice Capsey bowled the final ball, and it was later revealed that she had suffered a back spasm, which may leave her role in the Test match in doubt.

England had already opted to rest their fastest bowler, Lauren Filer, after her eye-opening breakthroughs in the second ODI, which left her bowling duties in the hands of Lauren Bell and Nat Sciver-Brunt. Wolvaardt took the lead in the first ten overs, adding 50 for the first wicket with Lara Goodall, one of four changes to the South Africa line-up.

Bell, however, made the first breakthrough late in the powerplay, when Goodall bowled a long ball to mid-on moments after a firm clip for four with her pads. And it is not the first time in this series that South Africa was blamed for their subsequent downfall.

Anneka Bosch, another change to the line-up, grew into her role with three powerful hits to the ground before crossing the line too loosely in front of Capsey, who Heather Knight had been forced to rely on in Cross’s absence. One end later, South Africa’s good start looked shaky at 107 for 3, when Sophie Ecclestone slid a flat trajectory towards Wolvaardt’s pad and got the lbw verdict on the field despite the ball tracker confirming it was a marginal decision.

In the 14th over, Nadine de Klerk reacted too slowly to Kapp’s call for a quick single on the covers, and was beaten by Bouchier’s strong return to Jones, while Annerie Dercksen’s guilty look at the umpire sealed her fate when Charlie Dean covered his lbw for 13. – another decision that turned out to be cutting bails.

At 156 for 5 with 18 overs to come, Kapp and Chloe Tryon had the power and poise to achieve the grand finale. But both batsmen fell for two runs in the space of nine balls: Kapp to a misjudged delivery to dismiss Capsey for 19, and Tryon to a torrent of blood at the end of Ecclestone’s eighth over, when she gave him the charge to stay. stumped by 20.

Masabata Klaas then played a limp drive to mid-on to depart for a seven-ball duck, but England’s hopes of a quick death at 201 for 8 were dashed by Mieke de Ridder and Nonkululeko Mlaba, who batted the last 45 balls of the party. innings to achieve a handy 32-run stand. As Kapp was tearing through England’s top order, those runs looked crucial. But Beaumont and Jones had other plans.