‘Not our best’, admits Proteas skipper Tryon, after first defeat

The enormity of the Proteas women’s task of attempting to win a maiden world title was laid bare on Tuesday when they were brushed aside by five wickets by tournament favourites Australia for their first loss of the ICC Women’s World Cup.

It was a slightly humbling defeat for the Proteas, after they had started the competition in fine form with four wins on the trot, but they were no match for the imperious Aussies, who picked up their sixth straight victory in New Zealand to secure top spot on the log with a match to spare.

With both teams going into the game as the only unbeaten sides left, and ranked first and second in the world, it was a possible preview to what could end up being the final.

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Batting first, the Proteas finally came to the party by scoring more than 250 runs for the first time in the tournament, as they reached 271/5 in their 50 overs, setting the Aussies a stiff target.

Laura Wolvaardt (90) again led the batting effort with her fourth straight half-century, while Sune Luus (52), and Lizelle Lee (36) backed her up well, while Marizanne Kapp (30 not out) and Chloe Tryon (17 not out) gave the innings late impetus.

Australia, however, made short work of the target, racing home with 28 balls and five wickets to spare on the back of captain Meg Lanning’s brilliant 135 off just 130 deliveries, with the rest of the order chipping in.

Despite the defeat, Proteas vice-captain Tryon believes they are not too far off of the Aussies and they just needed to be sharper in the second half of the game.

“Australia is a quality side. They’re the number one ranked team in the world for a reason. I just felt that we needed to be at our best today in the second half, and we weren’t,” said Tryon.

“We were really happy with how we batted against them. I loved the intensity the girls had which was fantastic to see. I feel that we could have done better in the field and backed up the bowlers. Too many dropped catches and bowling to the sides of the wicket.

“I think it could have been a different story if we kept to the stumps and put a lot of pressure on them. But I don’t think the gap is too big, we have worked really hard and we just have to bounce back from today.”

The Proteas have very little time to dwell on the loss as they have just a day’s break before heading into their next match against West Indies on Thursday, where they will look to pick up another win and seal their spot in the knockout stages.