‘We’ve broken a lot of hearts’: Proteas women keep their heads up

Though she admitted they could have played better, with the bat and in the field, Proteas women’s captain Sune Luus insisted they had not been left gutted after falling to title holders England in their World Cup semi-final in Christchurch on Thursday.

Having lost only one of their seven group stage matches, finishing second in the opening round and showing superb form ahead of the playoffs, the SA team were handed a 137-run defeat by England in their semi-final clash.

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England opener Danni Wyatt hammered 129 runs and Sophia Dunkley added another 60 further down the order as they carried their team to 293/8 in their 50 overs, with South Africa spilling a few catches which could have pinned them further back.

Shabnim Ismail was the best of the Proteas’ bowlers, taking 3/46, but their efforts with the ball mattered little in the end, and Luus felt they had done enough, despite the sloppy fielding.

Their downfall, in the end, was a batting collapse, as South Africa were bowled out for 156 with 12 overs to spare.

Mignon du Preez top-scored with just 30 runs, and Sophie Ecclestone shone for the England attack, returning 6/36.

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“If we had taken our chances, it might have been a different score, but at the end of the day I still think 290-odd was a good score to chase. We just didn’t apply ourselves with the bat,” Luus said after the game.

While they were again unable to progress to the final, however, after reaching the World Cup semi-finals for the third time, Luus was pleased with their all-round effort through the tournament.

Ahead of Sunday’s final between Australia and England in Christchurch, Proteas opener Laura Wolvaardt is the top run-scorer at the World Cup with 433 in eight matches (including five half-centuries), while Ismail is lying second among the list of wicket takers, with 14 scalps.

“We’ve had a lot of standout performances and I think we’ve broken a lot of hearts in this tournament by winning crucial games,” Luus said.

“I think this was our best campaign at a World Cup yet, so that’s something we can be extremely proud of as a team.”