Tazmin Brits and Marizanne Kapp were standing side by side staring into a mirror in the changeroom in Guwahati after the Proteas were bowled out for 69 in their first World Cup match by England. They made a pledge. “We said to each other, we are not going out like this,” Brits recalled.
Neither Brits, 34, nor Kapp, 35, are likely to be around for the next ODI World Cup in 2029.
Three and half weeks later, the duo — along with the rest of the squad — were banging on the walls in the same changeroom, singing their team song, and celebrating a spot in the World Cup final.
Lifting the trophy in Mumbai today would represent a remarkable end to a journey for women’s cricket in South Africa, that has charged from the margins of sport just 11 years ago — when the players were still amateurs — to the centre stage.
The final against a talented and financially well-backed Indian side, who will have the support of 1.4-billion people, will be the toughest examination of the Protea players’ careers.
But this squad — led with composure by Laura Wolvaardt, armed with Kapp’s fire, Nonkululeko Mlaba’s cheeky skill, and Nadine de Klerk’s bruising ball-striking — has already shown resolve, expertise and good old-fashioned South African gees to get to this exalted place, to the verge of cricketing glory.
At a time when the country has badly needed sport to, once more, provide a distraction from more serious matters, they’ve captured the nation’s hearts.
A first One-Day International world title would be richly deserved.
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