In their quest to become the first South African side to bring home a World Cup, Laura Wolvaardt & Co. find themselves on a collision course with holders and world-beaters Australia in the first semifinal of the 2024 Women's T20 World Cup in Dubai on Thursday (October 17).
On paper there's a lot similar between the two sides as they head into the 2023 final re-match. They both boast of openers who know how to push the bar in knockouts, their pace spearheads are the only ones conceding at under 4 RPO in the tournament, and their captains are friends at Adelaide Strikers who know each others' punches and counterpunches very well. The difference, however, could still be how well they handle nerves, and South Africa wouldn't want a cruel reminder of that February evening in Cape Town last year.
Over the 20 months that have elapsed since the heartbreak in front of a capacity home crowd, Laura Wolvaardt & Co. have learnt the most basic yet important lesson: if they play their best cricket, Australia are beatable. The sample size of that may be small - Australia have a 9-1 edge over South Africa in T20Is - but the belief in the team is huge.
That belief is compounded by a number of factors - mutual preparation earlier this year in Australia, in-form players leading the charge in both departments, and most importantly, the conditions which have levelled the playing field like never before. South Africa have played three of their four Group B games in Dubai, and won all comprehensively to go into the knockout match with that edge over the injury-plagued defending champions who've set foot in the stadium exactly once before.
England and India had been exhumed in their respective first games at the venue that fatally fractured their World Cup campaign, and it's unlikely Australia also took back any pleasing memories of their first outing in Dubai. Injury-prone quick Tayla Vlaeminck dislocated her shoulder on World Cup comeback to be ruled out yet again, before the double whammy of their skipper Alyssa Healy hobbling off the field with a foot injury.
That, however, didn't stand in their way of knocking India out in Sharjah even with a short turnaround period. The narrow nine-run win remains, arguably, the only humdinger of this World Cup thus far to test Australia's depth as the business end of the tournament approached. With or without Healy, Australia are still the team to beat. Their record speaks for themselves - Australia have qualified for the semifinals in each of the nine editions and made every final since 2010. Truth be told, it'll take a colossal effort from spirited South Africa to change that.
When: Thursday, October 17 at 6 PM local | 7:30 PM IST
Where: Dubai International Cricket Stadium
What to expect: Captains winning the toss in Dubai have opted to bat first on seven occasions and won four of them, while those preferring to chase have a 100% winning record here in three attempts. In the four matches won by the side batting first, which seems to be the new venue trend, three of the four first-innings scores were 160 or above. But an anomaly was New Zealand's 110/6 that proved enough to secure a 54-run win against Pakistan and their semifinal berth with it.
Head to head: Australia have a 9-1 win-loss record against South Africa in Women T20Is, their only defeat coming in Canberra in January earlier this year. Australia have won each of the seven head-to-head contests in Women's T20 World Cups including the final in Cape Town last year.
Team News
Waiting game continues on Australia captain Healy's availability. The wicketkeeper-opener - with her right foot in a moonboot and precautionary crutches deployed - is unlikely to make it back so soon, and hasn't trained since. Harris returned as opener in Healy's absence whereas Darcie Brown was the like-for-like replacement for the injured Vlaeminck in the game against India. Australia might stick to the same combination for the semifinal.
South Africa have no injury or availability concerns. The team got out for their first training on Tuesday in the two days since finishing their group stages last week itself.
- Megan Schutt is two away from becoming the first bowler to bag 50 wickets in the Women's T20 World Cup.
- Alyssa Healy and Ellyse Perry have featured in seven T20 World Cup semis till date, the most in the competition's history and one better than their former skipper Meg Lanning.
- Beth Mooney has scored a half-century in each of the last three T20 World cup knockouts she's been a part of including the 74* in the 2023 final. Likewise, Laura Wolvaardt has scored at least 41 in each of the last three World Cup knockouts South Africa have played.
What they said:
"It's easy to get swept away by Australia and what they've achieved, but at the end of the day, if we play a good game of cricket I think we have the talent to beat them. We've shown that in our T20 [series] earlier this year that we did. You can see the same with England and India not qualifying for semis - teams you thought would have [progressed]. But yeah, T20 cricket is a bit crazy sometimes. We just think if we keep it simple and focus on ourselves, we can do anything on the day." - South Africa skipper Laura Wolvaardt on the tough semifinal challenge
"As it stands, it's the same thing for Midge, the medical staff and the team are going to give her every opportunity and possibility of playing tomorrow night. I don't think anything's changed in that respect. We'll just have to see in the next 24 hours." - Stand-in vice-captain Ellyse Perry on Healy's fitness
Squads:
South Africa Women Squad: Laura Wolvaardt(c), Tazmin Brits, Anneke Bosch, Marizanne Kapp, Chloe Tryon, Sune Luus, Nadine de Klerk, Annerie Dercksen, Sinalo Jafta(w), Nonkululeko Mlaba, Ayabonga Khaka, Tumi Sekhukhune, Ayanda Hlubi, Seshnie Naidu, Mieke de Ridder
Australia Women Squad: Grace Harris, Beth Mooney(w), Georgia Wareham, Tahlia McGrath(c), Ellyse Perry, Ashleigh Gardner, Phoebe Litchfield, Annabel Sutherland, Sophie Molineux, Megan Schutt, Darcie Brown, Alyssa Healy, Kim Garth, Alana King, Heather Graham
Australia Women
South Africa Women
