The Proteas women sealed a series win over the West Indies women and the preparation was invaluable ahead of the World Cup in New Zealand.
IOL Sports Stuart Hess looks at what positive the team can take heading in to the tournament next month.
Ayabonga Khaka
A lot has been said and written about the brilliant new ball combination of Kapp and Ismail, but this Proteas unit has a third element that provides a threat in the form of Khaka. She was outstanding in this series claiming 10 wickets, making big breakthroughs and bowling with confidence. Her length and ability to find swing and seam movement through the air and off the surface was a highlight and an area, especially given likely conditions in New Zealand where she will be a huge asset.
Sune Luus
Dane van Niekerk’s are big shoes too fill but in all three categories; captaincy, batting and bowling, Luus did so with aplomb. Tactically she was astute and the times she chose to apply pressure with different fielding positions was clever. Importantly the captaincy didn’t appear to inhibit her when she batted or bowled; she was SA’s second highest run-scorer with 155 runs and her economy rate of 3.12 was the best amongst the home team’s bowlers.
Chloe Tryon
Looks stronger, faster and fitter than she has in a while and most importantly has overcome her injury problems. Her ground fielding was a highlight that went largely unnoticed because of some of her big hitting in the last two matches. Weighed in with several useful overs, which bodes well for the World Cup, where she provides a useful extra option for Luus.
The no.3 spot
The best performer for the Proteas in that crucial batting position was Andrie Steyn who played very well to make 53 in the last match. Steyn is not going to the World Cup at all. Lara Goodall looked tentative in the first two matches when she batted there and Anneke Bosch appeared rushed in the third game. Given that Goodall is in the main squad for the World Cup, it was strange that she didn’t play on Sunday. There are two warm-up matches before the tournament starts and if Goodall is the no.3 batter, she needs to make runs in those games.
Fielding
Wolvaardt’s sublime diving grab in the last match and Tryon’s excellent work on the boundary aside, the Proteas were dismal in this department. The World Cup will be decided by small margins and South Africa can ill-afford the litany of errors they made in the series to be repeated in New Zealand. Many hours will be put into improving the catching and ground fielding.