South Africa won the T20 series 2-0 before coasting to a 3-0 victory in the ODI series.
Having dominated throughout the tour, captain Laura Wolvaardt says the Proteas women’s team can take a lot of positives from their performances after going unbeaten in five matches against Ireland.
The SA side closed out the home tour by securing a six-wicket win with more than 17 overs to spare at the Wanderers on Friday, wrapping up a 3-0 one-day international (ODI) series clean sweep.
Batting first, Ireland were bowled out for 205 runs, with Proteas spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba taking career-best figures of 4/33.
In response, the hosts coasted to 206/4 in the 33rd over of their innings, with Wolvaardt hitting 100 not out off 93 balls. It was the skipper’s second successive century and her third ton in the five matches played on tour.
Ahead of the ODI series, South Africa had also cruised to a 2-0 win in the T20 series against Ireland, racking up more than 200 runs in both matches that were played (the third game in Benoni was rained out without a ball bowled).
Looking ahead
Wolvaardt felt they had proved they were on the right track in the build-up to the T20 World Cup to be played in England in June and July next year, and they were starting to build a squad for the next edition of the ODI World Cup to be held in 2029.
“In the T20 series we looked to play a strong side, with the T20 World Cup in mind next year, so I was very pleased we were able to push 200 a couple of times in those games that we played,” Wolvaardt said.
“The ODI series was a bit more about giving opportunities and rotating a little bit. A lot of players who are usually in the XI were chilling at home, getting a bit of a rest, so I think it was great to see some youngsters stepping up, some different people putting up their hands.
“I think the purpose of it was good and a lot of people really performed when given the opportunity, so I think selecting an XI going forward is going to be tough, but we obviously have that next 50-over World Cup in four years’ time in mind, so we’re trying to build a bit of a base.”
The Proteas women will compete again when they host Pakistan on home soil in February and March next year on a tour which will include three T20 Internationals and three ODI games.
