After a World Cup where they finished runners-up, South Africa would have expected to win at least one of the two white-ball series in New Zealand. The T20Is went 4-1 to New Zealand, and though South Africa won and lost one each of the first two ODIs, both of which were close affairs, they were thoroughly outplayed in the third, losing by 66 runs to concede the series. After the loss, head coach Mandla Mashimbyi pointed to the “big moments in the game” that South Africa couldn’t make the most of in Wellington on Saturday.
Making the difference was the mammoth 211-run stand between Maddy Green, who scored an unbeaten 141, and Brooke Halliday, who was unlucky to miss out on a century by falling for 98.
“I think after we had them three down [3 for 3 in 3.1 overs], I think we just let the pressure off a little bit. We allowed them to get in,” Mashimbyi said after the match. “We didn’t squeeze them enough, I think, maybe in the next five overs, which allowed them to get in. That’s one period that I think we could have done differently.
“And obviously, at the later stage, we could have also maybe just minimised the boundaries there into the last ten [overs]. And that’s where they actually capitalised. I think those two moments for me were probably big moments in the game.”
Laura Wolvaardt, with scores of 16, 69 and 69, was the third-highest run-getter in the series, but the big innings South Africa batters are known for didn’t come too frequently. Green in the third ODI and Amelia Kerr (179 not out) in the second got the big centuries for New Zealand, while four South Africa batters apart from Wolvaardt got half-centuries. But there was nothing too substantial in the two games they lost.
“I think from an individual point of view, yes [some batters did well], but I think from a partnership point of view, I think we could have done a lot better,” Mashimbyi said. “Quite disappointed that we don’t have hundreds. We normally pride ourselves in scoring hundreds, so the whole tour we didn’t get a hundred. We’re normally the team that actually scores hundreds, and this time around we didn’t do that. So it just shows when you don’t get partnerships, it’s not going to get you hundreds.”
With the T20 World Cup coming up in June-July in England – South Africa are the losing finalists from both the last two editions – there will be some concerns after the double-series loss in New Zealand.
“I think our worry is where we need to tweak, where are the gaps,” Mashimbyi said. “We just need to make sure that we get better. I thought the two young [fast bowlers, 21-year-old Ayanda Hlubi and 27-year-old Tumi Sekhukhune] were good up front. They actually complemented each other very well. One was swinging the ball well, and the other one was bowling hard lengths. I thought they did a really good job for us. But I think overs after that sort of released the pressure, which allowed Green and Halliday to get in. The rest is history.”
Up next are India, who visit South Africa in mid-April for a five-match T20I series.
“[We have to] make sure that we can lose a series but it doesn’t make us a bad team. I think when you’re a team and you realise where you’ve gone wrong and it’s not things that you haven’t done before,” Mashimbyi said. “Normally where the gaps are it’s probably a little bit of a concentration thing or an awareness thing, and it costs you dearly. I think the whole series that was the case with us. That’s probably what we need to brush up and make sure that against India we leave no stone unturned.”
