WI women lose by one run

PRETORIA: Hosts South Africa grabbed two wickets in the last over as they edged the West Indies by one run in a thriller at the eighth Women’s World Cup at the Laudium Oval yesterday. Chasing down 170 to win, the West Indies found themselves requiring three runs from three balls in the final over with one wicket standing. However Philippa Thomas missed a slog sweep and was bowled, giving the South Africans a close victory and their first real points of the tournament.

Medium pacer Cri-Zelda Brits, who grabbed the last wicket for South Africa, was the leading bowler with four for 36 and had earlier helped to destroy the West Indies middle order. Her topscore of 72 in the South Africa innings was enough to earn her the Player-of-the-Match award. In search of their target, the Windies started badly, losing Nadine George for two via the run out route in the fifth over of the innings with the score on 10. Her opening partner Nelly Williams followed soon afterward with the score on 24, as the West Indies continued to struggle. Barbadian Pamela Lavine struck a cameo 15-ball 16, which included three boundaries but was out with the score on 50 in the 15th over. With the Windies having declined to 73 for four in the 22nd over, Juliana Nero and Verena Felicien came together in a 45-run partnership that pushed the total beyond a hundred and returned hope to the regional side. Nero topscored with 41, which required 93 balls and included two fours and one six, while Felicien made a patient 12 from 43 balls. Both however perished within four overs of each other, leaving the tail to gather the remaining runs needed.

Envis Williams took up the challenge and her 28 from 63 balls saw the West Indies to within five of their target before she was run out off the second ball of the final over. The requirement proved too much for the last wicket pair of Thomas and Felicia Cummings as South Africa slipped home. Earlier, Thomas had starred with the ball grabbing four for 42 with her medium pace as the regional side did well to restrict the hosts to 169 all out in 49 overs. Medium pacer Debbie-Ann Lewis also bowled a brilliant opening spell to finish with two for 24 from her 10 overs while Felicien’s off-spin earned her two for 31. South Africa had a disastrous start and were tottering at 19 for four at one stage before opener Brits held the innings together with her 72 from 120 balls, before being ninth out. In the other matches played, Claire Taylor struck a brilliant century at Harlequins to spur England to a decisive 214-run win over Sri Lanka while Australia gained revenge for the last World Cup final with a 32-run defeat of title holders New Zealand at the Technicon Oval. India meanwhile recorded an easy nine-wicket win over Ireland at the Tshwane University of Technology.