Former England captain Nasser Hussain believes South Africa are finding their best form at the perfect time in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 and have every chance of making another deep run in the tournament.
South Africa, who reached the finals of the previous two Women’s T20 World Cups, had a difficult start to this year’s competition after suffering a heavy defeat against Australia. Their batting came under pressure after that loss, but the team has bounced back strongly with impressive wins over India and the Netherlands to stay in the race for the semi-finals.
The Proteas’ batting has looked much stronger in their last two matches. They first defeated India in an important run chase before producing another dominant performance against the Netherlands, where they scored over 200 runs and won by 88 runs.
Former England captain Hussain believes the team’s ability to recover from difficult situations comes from the confidence built by the captain, coaches and support staff.
“I think that comes from their captain, their backroom staff and their coaching staff. There’s a real self-belief in that side that they can recover,” Hussain said in the latest edition of The ICC Review with host Sanjana Ganesan.
“They’ve had a few issues at the top of the order, but Tazmin Brits has come in and got runs on a difficult pitch, then yesterday against the Netherlands she smashed a hundred. I think they’ve sort of solved that opening combination.”
Tazmin Brits has played a big part in South Africa’s comeback. After returning to the opening position, she scored her maiden T20I century with an unbeaten 114 against the Netherlands. Captain Laura Wolvaardt has also continued to score runs regularly, giving South Africa a much stronger start at the top of the order.
Hussain feels South Africa have found the right balance in their batting at the perfect stage of the tournament. He compared this year’s campaign to their journey in last year’s 50-over World Cup, where they recovered after a poor start and eventually reached the final.
“They did that in the 50-over World Cup, England hammered them early on and you were a bit fearful whether their batting line-up was strong enough. Before you know it, they’re in the World Cup final,” he said. “The same here. In the first game against Australia, they got hammered, but they have a resilience to them.”
South Africa’s batting struggled in their opening matches against Australia and Pakistan. Senior players including Laura Wolvaardt, Sune Luus and Marizanne Kapp were unable to make big scores. However, things have changed quickly as the tournament has gone on, with the top order now making valuable contributions.
Hussain believes Marizanne Kapp remains the team’s biggest match-winner. Against India, South Africa were in trouble at 25/2 while chasing 159. With the required run rate climbing above ten runs an over, Kapp once again showed why she is one of the best all-rounders in the world.
She stayed unbeaten on 81 from just 45 balls to guide South Africa to a famous victory. Hussain said Kapp always performs when her team needs her the most.
“If I’m looking in world cricket, a clutch player under pressure to deliver, it’s Marizanne Kapp. They were 25 for two, the game was drifting away, the run rate was going up at 10 an over, and the way Marizanne played and it’s not just a one-off,” Hussain noted.
“It’s always Marizanne Kapp. If you want someone to deliver under pressure, Marizanne Kapp with the bat, with the ball. If South Africa gets to the knockout stage, she is absolutely the key player.”
South Africa’s hopes of reaching the semi-finals now depend on their final Group A match against Bangladesh. They will also be hoping Australia can beat India in the last group-stage match. With both India and South Africa on six points after four matches, the race for the semi-finals is expected to go right down to the final day of the group stage.
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