Johannesburg — The South African batters struggled against a well-disciplined West Indies attack in the second One-Day International at the Wanderers on Monday and were bowled out in the last over of the innings for a total that was well below par.
The Proteas failed to come to terms with a tricky pitch, which provided assistance to the seamers early on, although it was a general lack of intensity that saw them under constant pressure throughout their innings. Monday’s match was reduced to a 41 overs-a-side with morning rain delaying the start by more than two hours.
When play did begin, the sun had broken through the clouds, but there was still sufficient assistance off the surface for the West Indies seamers. The South African openers Laura Wolvaardt (25) and Tazmin Brits (25) had provided a solid start with a partnership of 53, but one of them needed to show more attacking intent once a third of the innings was completed.
While Shakera Selman and Shamilla Connell again showed good control with the new ball, the star for the West Indies was the tall right-arm seamer Chinelle Henry. The 26 year old Jamaican, produced a spell the West Indies’s coach Courtney Walsh would have been proud to deliver in his pomp. She targeted the off-stump, getting the odd ball to nip away, and backed up by some good fielding in the ring, kept the South African batters in check.
Wolvaardt’s strike rate barely touched 50, while Brits was well below that and the pressure Henry built created a top order collapse that saw her dismiss both SA openers while no.3 Lara Goodall fell to the spinner Karishma Ramharack. Those three wickets came in a span of 14 balls, with just five runs being added to the scoreboard.
It took skipper Sune Luus to revert some pressure back onto the tourists, with an aggressive knock of 46, that came off 52 balls. Luus was able to find the gaps, run well and when the West Indies erred in either line or length, she found the boundary. Her best shot was a pick up sweep for six off Selman.
However she needed help and didn’t get that from her teammates; Mignon du Preez’s dismissal was soft,; a casual click to midwicket after scoring 9, Chloe Tryon huffed and puffed in making 18, while Sinalo Jafta scored 14.
Following the opening partnership, there wasn’t much else in that category that caught the eye for the hosts, with the next best a stand of 29 for the fourth wicket between Du Preez and Luus.
Henry finished with 2/32, from nine overs, her figures spoiled by some boundaries she gave away in her final over, when she was fatigued. Connell (2/22) and Hayley Matthews (2/21) also impressed.
The West Indies were effervescent in the field, illustrated by a superb one-handed grab by Henry at mid-on to dismiss Tryon in the 36th over.
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