New Zealand 152 for 4 (Devine 59*, Dercksen 1-17) beat South Africa 149 for 7 (Wolvaardt 37, Reyneke 34*, Devine 2-21, Bates 2-10) by six wickets
Usually at Eden Park, the square boundaries are the longest but with the rope being pulled in for the women’s game, that changed. Devine went from 13 off 10 to 55 off 38 pulling everything in sight. She collected 46 runs at a strike rate of 219 on the leg side. At the time the fifth-wicket partnership had hit 50, Maddy Green had made only 12 off 15. It was all Devine from the other end and it was all Devine till the end. Her superpowers now include winning the game without touching the ball. Dercksen missed the cut strip as she tried to hide it away from the batter’s reach.
South Africa had to wait 23 balls for the first boundary off the bat on Friday. Dercksen made it worth the wait with a neat little flick off her legs that travelled all the way for six over deep midwicket. Dercksen arrived with the score on 9 for 2 in the third over and put the pressure back on New Zealand. While she was at the crease, she was responsible for more then half the boundaries (4 out of 7) her team scored. Thanks to that, Laura Wolvaardt could drop anchor and go at her preferred pace, though 37 off 39 wasn’t a good look for the captain, who later admitted they were well short of a competitive total.
A pitch with 10mm of grass offered enough for the seamers and even someone with their eye in was found out when Devine went into the pitch. The little legcutter – a response to being hit for six the previous ball – found Dercksen in two minds, whether to attack or defend, and took down her off stump. South Africa lost 59 for 5 between the eighth and the 18th overs, going 38 balls without a boundary.
Bates continued to find more success with the ball. She took a wicket in her first over and took responsibility in the death as well. New Zealand held their line and length really well, routinely cramping the batters up, guiding them to hit the areas – midwicket and square leg – that they had covered.
Reyneke (34 not out off 20) was frustrated for a large part of her innings. At one point, she clocked a Rosemary Mair yorker and since it had a bit of room, she prepared to glide it between point and short third for four but didn’t open the face of her bat enough. When the ball didn’t get off the square, she slumped over, a grunt caught on the stump mic. South Africa were 121 for 7 in the 19th over. She was 10 off 11.
Reyneke’s presence forced Jess Kerr to go wide in the final over – too wide. The umpire penalising her made the bowler shift her line and that little bit was enough for Reyneke to smash two sixes and a four, all down the ground, and hoist South Africa to 149 for 7. She wasn’t given a lot to get under but as soon as she was given one, she smashed it out of the park. The margin for error was breathtakingly small.
