Both sides had the benefit of being able to assess the conditions in the day’s early match, a Celtic clash between Scotland and Ireland, which was played on the same pitch. So the toss meant more than usual. Sophie Molineux called correctly, chose to bat, and handed over a team sheet that featured four spinners.
The Australians regrouped after being reduced to 62/4 in the eighth to total 172/8, thanks largely to a stand of 58 off 38 between Ellyse Perry and Georgia Wareham and another of 22 off 15 shared by Annabel Sutherland and Nicola Carey. South Africa were shunted out for 107 in 16.4 – the only time they have been dismissed by the Aussies in the format. Those four spinners – Molineux, Alana King, Wareham and Ash Gardner – took 8/72 in 12.4.
Importantly, Wolvaardt, a proven matchwinner and South Africa’s lynchpin, was marooned at the non-striker’s end for 43 of the 82 balls that were bowled while she was in the middle. When she did face she struggled to find gaps in the field – she made 44 off 39, but endured a dozen dot balls. Wolvaardt has 32 scores of 40 or more in T2OIs. In 25 of them she made her runs faster than her strike rate on Saturday of 112.82.