Laura Wolvaardt, the South Africa Women’s captain, called correctly at the toss and chose to bowl first in their third ICC Women’s Championship (IWC) one-day international (ODI) against New Zealand Women at the Basin Reserve in Wellington on Saturday.
The Proteas Women come into this contest with an eye on sealing a 2-1 series win, following the White Ferns’ record-breaking chase to level the contest at 1-1. In the last match, the visitors mounted an imposing 346 for six. Anneke Bosch (91), Wolvaardt (69), and Chloe Tryon (52*) played well and recorded half-centuries.
Unfortunately for the South Africans, Amelia Kerr was in incredible form. The New Zealand captain played a blinder of an innings, scoring an unbeaten 179, to lead the hosts to a two-wicket win with two balls to spare.
“A series win is up for grabs, and we really want that, along with the points in the ICC Championship. So, it’s a really important game tomorrow. Hopefully, it will be another good one, and we’ll be better than the previous game,” Bosch shared before the tie.
The Proteas will put their best foot forward because it’s not just a series win at stake. The teams are also competing for ICC Women’s Championship points. This series is part of their qualification campaign for the 2029 ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup.
Toss Update 🪙
— Proteas Women (@ProteasWomenCSA) April 3, 2026
🇿🇦 South Africa Women have won the toss and elected to Bowl first.
🔁 Three changes for #TheProteas as Ayabonga Khaka and Chloé Tryon miss out due to illness. Annerie Dercksen and Ayanda Hlubi come into the side, while Tumi Sekhukhune replaces Masabata Klaas.… pic.twitter.com/sWl4UNX8OB
NEW ZEALAND: Suzie Bates, Georgia Plimmer, Amelia Kerr (capt), Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Izzy Gaze (wk), Izzy Sharp, Jess Kerr, Nensi Patel, Rosemary Mair, Kayley Knight
SOUTH AFRICA: Laura Wolvaardt (capt), Tazmin Brits, Annerie Dercksen, Sune Luus, Anneke Bosch, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Nadine de Klerk, Chloe Tryon, Tumi Sekhukhune, Ayanda Hlubi, Nonkululeko Mlaba