Mlaba takes out the middle
Mlaba struck once in the powerplay, firing a flatter delivery into Qiana Joseph’s (4 off 14 balls) off stump to end a pained innings. But she did the majority of her damage through the middle, by which stage, West Indies were already battling to put up a decent score.
Mlaba was tight with her lines, and that quicker ball was dangerous. She bowled Shemaine Campbelle off her thigh pad in the 12th over, before slowing it down and getting Chinelle Henry caught behind next ball.
In her final over – the 16th of the innings – she had Aaliyah Alleyne failing to keep an offside slash down, before Brits took a spectacular diving catch. Mlaba finished with 4 for 29 from her four overs, having only conceded two boundaries – a four to Deandra Dottin and a six to Taylor, though Mlaba did also bowl five wides down the leg side off her hat-trick ball.
South Africa’s openers boss it
Both Wolvaardt and Brits struck authoritative boundaries in the first over, bowled by Henry. Brits was quieter through the rest of the powerplay, but Wolvaardt was on the charge, hitting especially memorable boundaries through the leg side to move to 29 off 20 by the time the fielding restrictions ended. Brits, in the same period, collected 12 off 16.
With the required rate whittled down to about 5.5 an over, the pair set about accumulating through the middle overs, playing largely risk-free cricket. Wolvaardt was dropped on 33 by Karishma Ramharack who couldn’t hold onto a difficult return chance. But otherwise, South Africa’s progress was smooth.
They got to 100 off the first ball of the 15th over, as Wovaardt reached her fifty off the 45th ball she faced. Brits got there next over, also off her 45th ball, having struck four further boundaries since that powerplay. West Indies were never able to put either batter under serious pressure for long.
