SA Women bury World Cup semi-final ghosts with ‘unreal victory

THESE really are amazing times for South African cricket.

- ZAAHIER ADAMS

On the back of the men’s team lifting the World Test Championship crown earlier this year, the Laura Wolvaardt-led team have now become the first senior Proteas Women’s side to forge ahead to a 50-over ICC World Cup final.

In beating, nay dismantling previous tormentors England last night in Guwahati, the Mandla Mshimbyi-coached team brought to an end decades of disappointment and semifinal trauma.

The final margin of a 125 runs was an accurate reflection of their dominance from the moment Wolvaardt creamed Lauren Bell’s first ball of the match through the covers.

Wolvaardt, and her Proteas team, never looked back from that moment even when England tried their utmost to claw their way back into the contest.

But this glorious night belonged to the Proteas; Wolvaardt’s sublime 169 off 143 balls (20x4, 4x6) deserved to be enshrined on the side of the victors. Her artistry at the crease belonged in the Louvre, while she also displayed the power of a lumberjack.

It was a World Cup innings that will be remembered for the ages by everyone that had the pleasure of witnessing it.

"It still feels a bit unreal. I think that's sort of the thing that you dream about as a kid is scoring 100 in a World Cup, knockout game as well. Very special day and I'm so glad we won in the end," Wolvaardt said.