South Africa officially qualified for the semi-finals of the Under-19 Women’s World Cup when their final Super Six match, against the USA, was abandoned on Tuesday without a ball being bowled in Kuching, Malaysia. They meet Australia in the semi-finals.
It has been an impressive tournament for the young South Africans. They topped their pool after wins against New Zealand (by 22 runs), Samoa (by 10 wickets), Nigeria (by 41 runs) and Ireland (by 7 wickets), as well as the point from the abandoned game against the USA.
The young team will now play in Friday’s semi-finals against Australia, while the other semi-final features England against India.
So far, South Africa’s bowlers have been key. Kayla Reynecke has taken nine wickets overall, the third most in the tournament, while Nthabiseng Nini’s economy rate of 2.71 tops the charts for the least expensive figures with the ball.
This team includes seven players who were part of the 2023 U19 World Cup squad including Jemma Botha, Seshnie Naidu, Monalisa Legodi, Karabo Meso, Simoné Lourens, Nthabiseng Nini and Kayla Reyneke.