In a tournament that has been dominated by low scores on bowler-friendly surfaces, it was New Zealand’s batting intent from the beginning that was immediately eye-catching.
When opener Georgia Plimmer skipped down the pitch to Marizanne Kapp’s second ball – despite missing – the message was clear. They were not going to die wondering.
Plimmer eventually fell for nine and Bates added 32, before Kerr and Devine were tasked with the rebuilding effort after a little wobble to 53-2.
But when Devine was lbw to De Klerk for six in the 11th over, there was a danger of New Zealand wasting their positive start, where they had played with such freedom and found the boundary regularly with little sign of any big-occasion nerves.
Kerr held firm, steadily rotating the strike at a run-a-ball while Halliday played more expansively around her, constantly pushing twos even when the boundaries were not flowing. This kept the pressure on South Africa’s bowlers, who were struggling for consistency for the first time in the tournament.
After Halliday’s departure, Kerr was rewarded for her patience as she thumped back-to-back boundaries off Nonkululeko Mlaba in the penultimate over, before Ayabonga Khaka’s horror final over conceded 16 – including the game’s only six from Green – to put New Zealand firmly in the driving seat.
The scoreboard pressure did the rest as South Africa wilted, unable to capitalise on Wolvaardt’s knock, with Kerr taking her tournament tally to 15 – a new record in a Women’s T20 World Cup, beating England’s Anya Shrubsole and Australian Megan Schutt’s previous record of 13.
New Zealand’s elation was heartbreakingly juxtaposed by South Africa’s despair, falling short at the final hurdle once more as the country’s agonising wait for a global cricket title – men’s or women’s – continues.
