The Proteas were in deep trouble against the West Indies but have progressed to the ICC Women’s World Cup semi-finals after their match was abandoned due to rain.
Cape Town – The Proteas have progressed to the Women’s World Cup semi-finals after their match against West Indies was abandoned due to rain in Wellington on Thursday.
Both teams were awarded a point leaving South Africa in second place on the table with nine points after six matches. They still have one game remaining against India on Sunday.
West Indies will be keeping a close eye on that match as they have now finished their round-robin campaign and are currently in third place on seven points. India are a point behind and would overtake the Windies should the 2017 runners-up beat South Africa. However, a Proteas win will ensure the Windies progress to the knockout stages.
South Africa have no such concerns and now start building towards their semi-final where they have also avoided facing the juggernaut Australian team.
🚨 MATCH ABANDONED
Just 10.5 overs were played as rain had the final say in Wellington. The #MomentumProteas and West Indies grab a point each 🌧️
The solitary point secures a #CWC22 semifinal spot 🇿🇦
📷 ICC/Getty#SAvWI #BePartOfTheForce #AlwaysRising pic.twitter.com/kY49BMEOEP
— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) March 24, 2022
It was in the balance though for a few moments after the Windies reduced South Africa to 22/4 after just 5.3 overs in the match that was reduced to 26 overs. Although South Africa recovered to 61/4 due to Mignon du Preez’s counter-attacking 38 not out off 31 balls (6×4) before the heavens opened again, the Proteas dressing room was a concerned one throughout the contest.
“It wasn’t ideal to sit around and waiting on, but we need to take positives out of today,” said captain Suné Luus.
“Everybody’s excited, happy to be in the semi-finals and also the way Mignon batted. There’s still a lot of batters who’d like to get some runs. With our bowling, we need to keep hitting our strides. We also pride on our fielding.
One step closer 🇿🇦 💚
📷 ICC/Getty#CWC22 #BePartOfTheForce #AlwaysRising pic.twitter.com/SMD6HpapYU
— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) March 24, 2022
“We are pumped to be getting into the final, it’s been a dream for us. Obviously we need to get through the semi-final. It’s going to be a tough game. We need to play our best game. We just take game-to-game and we’d like to keep with our momentum and a win on Sunday will help with that.”
Meanwhile, Windies captain Stafanie Taylor said her team will be keeping a close eye on the Proteas game against India on Sunday.
“We’ll probably have some popcorn and hope South Africa do beat India. That’s something we can’t control, but we do hope that it goes our way,” Taylor said.
