South Africa Women have been ruthless in the ODI leg of the West Indies tour, beating the hosts comprehensively in three consecutive matches to take a series-winning 3-0 lead. The fourth match will place at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua on September 16.
The third contest between the two sides saw Dane van Niekerk’s side doing a fantastic job dismantling the WI women on only 157. Shabnim Ismail took three wickets while Ayabonga Khaka and Sune Luus picked two wickets each.
Deandra Dottin (71) and Rashada Williams (37) were the only players to make any contribution for the hosts. The South African openers continued their great form, with Lizelle Lee scoring unbeaten 78 and Laura Wolvaardt making 53, to mow down the target with eight wickets to spare.
Earlier, the visitors hammered WI Women by eight wickets in the series opener, followed by another 9-wicket thrashing in the second. The hosts would be desperate for a turnaround in the fourth ODI, while SA will be eyeing a clean sweep.
Key players
One of the best all-format players in the world, Marizanne Kapp, has a stellar record in her career, having picked 134 wickets in 118 matches at an outstanding economy of 3.67 and at 23.88 runs apiece. The premier all-rounder has four 4-wicket hauls with the best of 4/14.
Kapp has also scored over 2000 runs in the format while averaging 28.81, including one hundred and nine fifties. The experienced all-rounder has picked five wickets in this series, including 3/24 of nine overs in the second game.
The explosive opener Lizelle Lee has a magnificent record, being the second-highest run-getter for SA in WODIs. She has scored 3173 runs in this format at an average of 38.22 and strike rate of 85.11, including three centuries and 22 half centuries. The fact that she has the third-best average and second-best strike rate for anyone who has scored over 1000 runs from SA shows how good she has been. Lee has been fantastic in this series, scoring 91*, 18 and 78* in three innings.
Laura Wolvaardt is just 22 years of age but has already carved herself into an outstanding career for South Africa. The opening batter has been very consistent in the fifty overs format, amassing 2310 runs in 60 innings at an exceptional average of 45.29.
She has the best batting average in the history of SA women’s cricket. Wolvaardt has registered two hundreds and 21 fifties for the team, with the best of 149. Like Lee, Wolvaardt has been magnificent in the ongoing series, having scored 36, 71* and 53 in the first three games.
The right-hand batter Dendra Dottin – one of the best women’s players in the history of West Indies – has 3021 runs in the fifty overs format at an average of 28.50 at a good strike rate of 78.26, including one century and 20 half centuries. Dottin has also picked 69 wickets at an economy of 4.79 with best bowling of 5/34. She has three four-wicket hauls too. Dottin has been the only performing player for the hosts in this series, having scored 110 runs in three innings.
Ayabonga Khaka has excellent numbers in her career for SA. The right-arm medium pacer has 86 wickets in 69 matches at an economy of just over 4 and at 25.23 runs per wicket. Her best bowling figures read 4/40. Khaka has been terrific in this series, being the highest wicket-taker with 6 scalps at an exceptional average of 8.67. She has two wickets each in all three games.
Prediction
The rivalry between the team has been competitive over the years, with SA winning 13 and WI claiming 10. The form, however, is on SA women’s side. Important to note that WI women have only beaten SA once in the last seven meetings.
The visitors have looked solid in both the departments. Their bowlers have been superb, with four of them having more wickets than WI’s best bowler. Lee and Wolvaardt are the top 2 run-getters of the series in the batting department, having done most of the job.
The West Indies Women have been highly dependent on Dottin. They are also on a five-match losing streak in the 50-overs format. All in all, South Africa Women look firm favourites heading into the fourth One-Day International.
