Sophie Molineux and Tess Flintoff seal the deal for Governor General’s XI against South Africa Women

On their first tour of Australia since 2016, South Africa women, who remain without a win in their 15 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and 7 Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) against Australia, engaged in a T20 contest earlier today (January 24) against a youthful Australian side – ‘Governor General XI’ at the North Sydney Oval to kick off their tour.

Playing XIs:

Governor Generals XI – Sophie Molineux (C), Georgia Voll, Charli Knott, Tess Flintoff, Maddy Darke (WK), Tahlia Wilson, Amy Edgar, Sianna Ginger, Chloe Ainsworth, Courtney Sippel, Lucy Hamilton

South Africa – Laura Wolvaardt (C), Tazmin Brits, Anneke Bosch, Sune Luus, Chloe Tryon, Nadine de Klerk, Eliz-Mari Marx, Mieke de Ridder (WK), Nonkululeko Mlaba, Ayabonga Khaka, Masabata Klaas

Bowling first, Chloe Ainsworth made an instant impact dismissing South African skipper Laura Wolvaardt for a 4-ball duck. The woes continued for the visitors as Tazmin Brits (4) and Anneke Bosch (10) departed early with only 19 runs on the board. The experienced duo of Sune Luus and the returning Chloe Tryon initiated a fightback, with Tryon expressing aggression and Luus providing stability.

In the 13th over, Amy Edgar delivered the breakthrough for GGXI, bringing an end to the flourishing 68-run partnership as Sune Luus departed for 31(28). The momentum continued to swing in GGXI’s favor as Courtney Sippel then dismissed Chloe Tryon in the following over for 39(29), leaving South Africa women 5 down for 109 in the 14th over.

Taking strike, Nadine de Klerk played a pivotal role, offering South Africa the necessary flourish with a quickfire 24-ball 48* that propelled the team to a total of 149/7. For GGXI, Chloe Ainsworth and Courtney Sippel excelled, leading the wickets chart with figures of 2/31 (4) and 2/20 (3) respectively. Sophie Molineux and Amy Edgar also contributed, each securing a wicket in their bowling spells.

In reply, GGXI was off to a strong start, with skipper Sophie leading the scoring, alongside Georgia Voll. In the 7th over with 61 runs on the board, Nadine de Klerk delivered the breakthrough South Africa sought, dismissing Voll for 21(21). Charlie Knott didn’t disturb the scorecard much, departing for 1(4), and Tess Flintoff then joined a well-set Sophie Molineux.

The partnership between the duo reached 56 runs, steering GGXI towards a good position. However, as GGXI approached a commanding win, Khaka made a significant breakthrough by dismissing Sophie for 59(41) in the 14th over. GGXI suffered a mini-collapse, losing 3 more wickets for 10 runs, with Maddy Drake and Edgar departing without contributing, and Tess concluding her innings on 42(27), leaving GGXI 6 down for 132 in the 16th over.

Tahlia Wilson stayed unbeaten on 15(11), accompanied by Sianna Ginger (5*), as GGXI successfully chased down the target with 4 wickets and 4 balls to spare. Masabata Klaas was the leading wicket-taker for South Africa, securing figures of 3/16 (4), while Ayabonga Khaka and Nadine de Klerk registered respective figures of 2/29 (3.2) and 1/21 (3).

The start of South Africa’s historic tour of Australia, their first-ever multi-format series with a red-ball Test included, wasn’t what they would have wanted. They will look to rebound in their upcoming fixtures against the all-conquering Australian unit.

South Africa ‘s tour of Australia, schedule: