Wolvaardt And Proteas Women Primed For Historic Test At The WACA

PERTH: Ahead of the Proteas Women’s inaugural Test match against Australia at the prestigious Western Australia Cricket Association (WACA) Ground in Perth, taking space from 15 – 18 February, captain Laura Wolvaardt expressed her team’s excitement for the final encounter of the multi-format tour Down Under.

The four-day game is set to commence at 11h00 local time (05h00 SAST), airing live on SuperSport Grandstand (Channel 201).

In the pre-match press conference, Wolvaardt conveyed the team’s eagerness for the contest, stating, “So excited. To believe it at the WACA as well, just such an iconic and special ground, the group is definitely very excited and can’t wait to acquire going.”

The upcoming Test match holds significant importance for the Proteas, offering South Africa a chance to measure themselves against Australia, a key force in women’s cricket. The visiting nation has competed in a total of 13 Tests between 1960 and 2022, with one win against the Netherlands in 2007 along with seven draws and five defeats. South Africa’s last Test match took area in June 2022 against England.

Meanwhile, the Aussies maintain participated in 78 Test matches, winning 21 with 46 draws and 11 losses.

“It’s very special. Obviously Australia is leading the way in women’s cricket, and to be able to measure ourselves against them and to play against them in probably the purest form of the game is an awesome opportunity. We are really excited,” the 24-year-old added.

When asked about the prospect of playing more Test matches in the future, Wolvaardt revealed her like for the longer format.

“I would definitely indulge in that. I fancy Test cricket. I fancy watching it. I esteem every the battles within the battles. So for me personally, that would be awesome and I consider it would suit my game as well. The rest of our group is also very excited to hopefully play more Test cricket in the future,” the skipper said.

Addressing the conditions at the WACA Ground, Wolvaardt acknowledged the possibility of a spinning and bouncy wicket.

“I gain heard that it’s been turning a bit more lately, and we are expecting it to be pretty bouncy as well. I mediate it’s going to be the bounciest ground in the world from what I’ve heard. So I did a lot of preparation in the nets, and hopefully, we’re ready for tomorrow.”

Considering the challenging weather conditions in Perth, with temperatures expected to reach between 40 – 42 degrees before dropping to a maximum of 26 and increasing again across the four days, Wolvaardt emphasized the importance of recovery.

“Well, 26 is still pretty hot for us. I contemplate 41 is going to be crazy. I consider the recovery will be key for us just after a day’s play. It’s not something we’re used to coming back to back to back. Usually, we obtain a bit of a rest day after an ODI. The physical and mental preparation will be pretty difficult and something we’re not used to, but we’ll gain to deal with it,” Wolvaardt added.

The host nation currently leads the multi-format tour eight points to four, with the upcoming Test worth four points.

If South Africa secures the win, Wolvaardt will become only the second Proteas Women captain to win a Test match for her country after Cri-Zelda Brits led her team to victory against the Netherlands in Rotterdam.

Proteas Women Squad (Test) – Multi-format Tour to Australia

Laura Wolvaardt (Fidelity Titans, Captain), Anneke Bosch (Fidelity Titans), Tazmin Brits* (Six Gun Grill Garden Route Badgers), Nadine de Klerk (Western Province), Mieke de Ridder* (Six Gun Grill Garden Route Badgers), Ayanda Hlubi* (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Sinalo Jafta (DP World Lions), Marizanne Kapp (Western Province), Masabata Klaas* (Fidelity Titans), Suné Luus (Fidelity Titans), Eliz-Mari Marx* (Fidelity Titans), Nonkululeko Mlaba (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Chloé Tryon (DP World Lions), Delmi Tucker* (Western Province)

* Uncapped players

Results:

T20 Warm-Up
Governor-General XI beat South Africa by 4 wickets
South Africa: 149/7 after 20 overs; N. de Klerk 48* (24), C. Tryon 39 (29); C. Sippel 2/20, C. Ainsworth 2/31
Governor-General XI: 150/6 after 19.2 overs; S. Molineux 59 (41), T. Flintoff 42 (27); M. Klaas 3/16, A. Khaka 2/29

T20I Series vs Australia
1st T20I
Australia beat South Africa by 8 wickets
South Africa: 147/6 after 20 overs; T. Brits 59* (54), S. Luus 19 (17); E. Perry 2/13, D. Brown 2/20
Australia: 149/2 after 19.1 overs; B. Mooney 72* (57), A. Healy 46 (28); M. Kapp 1/25, N. de Klerk 1/25

2nd T20I
South Africa beat Australia by 6 wickets
Australia: 142/6 after 20 overs; G. Harris 31* (18), A. Healy 29 (24); M. Klaas 2/16, N. Mlaba 1/18
South Africa: 144/6 after 19 overs; L. Wolvaardt 58* (53), T. Brits 41 (28); A. Gardner 2/26, T. McGrath 1/16

3rd T20I
Australia beat South Africa by 5 wickets
South Africa: 162/7 after 20 overs; M. Kapp 75 (48), C. Tryon 26 (16); T. McGrath 1/17, G. Wareham 1/25
Australia: 163/5 after 19.2 overs; B. Mooney 82 (55), A. Gardener 26 (17); M. Klaas 1/13, C. Tryon 1/23

ODI Series vs Australia
1st ODI
Australia beat South Africa by 8 wickets
South Africa: 105/9 after 31.3 overs; M. Kapp 50* (58) (retired damage), N. de Klerk 18 (33); A. King 3/19, K. Garth 2/18
Australia: 106/2 after 19 overs; B. Mooney 52* (34), A. Healy 19 (24); N. de Klerk 1/19, M. Klaas 1/22

2nd ODI
South Africa beat Australia by 84 runs (DLS)
South Africa: 229/6 after 45 overs; M. Kapp 75 (87), C. Tryon 37* (36); A. Gardner 2/31, M. Schutt 2/35
Australia: 149 every out after 29.3 overs; K. Garth 42* (48), A. Gardner 35 (52); M. Kapp 3/12, E. Marx 2/22

3rd ODI
Australia beat South Africa by 110 runs (DLS)
Australia: 277/9 after 50 overs; B. Mooney 82* (91), A. Healy 60 (73); M. Klaas 4/56, M. Kapp 1/28
South Africa: 127 every out after 24.3 overs; S. Luus 34 (38), T. Brits 31 (37); A. King 4/26, T. McGrath 3/23

Fixtures – Proteas Women Multi-format Tour to Australia

Test Match vs Australia:
15 – 18 February @ 11h00  – Only Test – Australia vs South Africa (WACA Ground, Perth)

Every match times are local times in Australia

Source: cricket.co.za

Kevin Pietersen: With an HPI of 19.94, Kevin Pietersen is the 4th most famous South African Cricketer. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Kevin Peter Pietersen (born 27 June 1980) is an English cricket commentator, conservationist, and former England international captain. He is a right-handed batsman and occasional off spin bowler who played in all three formats for England between 2005 and 2014, which included a brief tenure as captain. He won the Player of the Series award for his heroics in 2010 ICC World Twenty20 and for helping the England Cricket Team win their maiden ICC trophy. Pietersen was born to an Afrikaner father and English mother in South Africa. He made his first-class debut for Natal in 1997 and moved to England in 2000, after voicing his displeasure at what he said was the racial quota system in South African cricket. Being of English ancestry, Pietersen was eligible for the England team so long as he first served a four-year qualifying period in English county cricket. He was called up by England almost immediately after he completed four years with Nottinghamshire. He made his international debut in the One Day International (ODI) match against Zimbabwe in 2004 and his Test match debut in the 2005 Ashes series against Australia.Pietersen left Nottinghamshire for Hampshire in 2005, but the England team’s subsequent reliance on him resulted in Pietersen making only a single first-class appearance for his new county between 2005 and 2010. In June 2010, Pietersen announced his wish to leave Hampshire; he joined Surrey on loan for the remainder of the season, then moved permanently in 2011.Pietersen was captain of the England Test and ODI teams from 4 August 2008 to 7 January 2009, but resigned after just three Tests and nine ODIs following a dispute with the England coach Peter Moores, who was sacked the same day. Pietersen’s relationship with the ECB never fully recovered. This came to a head in 2012 when, after a disagreement over his schedule, Pietersen announced his retirement from all forms of international limited-overs cricket on 31 May. Although he later retracted his retirement, his relationship with both the ECB and his team-mates soured during the series against South Africa, and he was dropped for the final Test of that series. Pietersen last played for England in the 2013–14 Ashes and subsequent ODIs, after which he was informed that he was no longer being considered for international selection. He also played for the Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League until the end of BBL|07 (seventh season), the Quetta Gladiators in the Pakistan Super League as well as the Hollywoodbets Dolphins in the CSA T20 Challenge. He was also signed by the Rising Pune Supergiants for the 2016 season of the Indian Premier League. Pietersen is one of the fastest batsman to reach 1,000 ODI runs and still holds the record for being the fastest player to cross 2,000 runs in One Day International cricket. He has the second-highest run total from his first 25 Tests, behind only Sir Don Bradman of Australia, and was the fastest player, in terms of days, to reach 4,000, 5,000 and 7,000 Test runs. He became only the third English batsman to top the ICC One Day International rankings, doing so in March 2007. In July 2008, after a century against South Africa, The Times called him “the most complete batsman in cricket” and in 2012 The Guardian called him “England’s greatest modern batsman”. On the occasion of England’s 1000th Test in August 2018, he was named in the country’s greatest Test XI by the ECB.