After being put into bat, Australia did not carry the usual swagger and confidence expected from six-time winners of this tournament.
In fact, they were shy, only hitting 11 boundaries in total. This is despite their enviable batting depth which often leads to them playing much more freely than other teams who tend to protect fragile and inexperienced middle-order teams.
The early departures of Harris and Wareham were not overly worrying, with the likes of Perry, Litchfield, McGrath and Ash Gardner arriving – but with each passing without acceleration, there was a feeling that such a start would never emerge.
In the end, being down five wickets was a huge loss with Gardner and Annabel Sutherland left devastated in the dugout.
They were punished for this caution as South Africa’s roles were completely inconsistent.
Wolvaardt timed the ball beautifully from the start with her trademark brilliant cover drives but Bosch’s strike was stunning.
Against England in the group stage, the 31-year-old stumbled to hit 18 off 26 balls and didn’t look the part of three balls, but up against the world’s mightiest powerhouse she hit the ball with such clarity and power in a way we didn’t expect. We haven’t seen it yet in this tournament.
It is their highest individual score to date, and to achieve it under the greatest amount of pressure and against such quality opposition was astonishing – and such was the ease of South Africa’s victory that Marizanne Kapp was not required to bat.
Australia did not make many mistakes with the ball as Bosh did not even offer a chance, but they will rue their lack of ambition with the bat as they allowed South Africa to move one step closer to their first world title.
