Proteas seal morale boosting series win over Windies ahead of World Cup departure

Johannesburg — The Proteas gave their confidence a boost ahead of the World Cup by completing a come from behind series win against the West Indies at the Wanderers on Sunday.

It wasn’t a triumph without someproblems - with the fielding on Sunday particularly poor - but having not played for four months, then the news that captain Dane van Niekerk would miss the World Cup with a broke foot and the absence in this series of Lizelle Lee and Marizanne Kapp, it is a win worth celebrating.

Sune Luus, who led the side here and will continue in that role in New Zealand, had said winning this series would be a bonus, and that attention would rather be focussed on testing combinations and tactics. As far as combinations go some questions remain, most notably about who will bat at no.3. South Africa played three different batters there this series, with Andrie Steyn being the most successful following her innings of 53 on Sunday.

However Steyn’s not going to the World Cup at all - with Lara Goodall, who is in the main squad played two matches and scored 15 runs, while Anneke Bosch, who is among the ‘travelling reserves’ scored just five in her only outing.

Tazmin Brits opened alongside Laura Wolvaardt in place of ODI Player of the Year Lee who had Covid, but didn’t make sufficient use of her opportunities scoring 95 runs in four innings.

The next few weeks - part of which will be spent in a ‘mandatory isolation and quarantine’ facility in New Zealand will provide time to ponder those questions and the two warm-up games the side will play in Christchurch before their March 5 World Cup opener against Bangladesh will assist in that regard too.

Even in Kapp’s absence and with Shabnim Ismail not at her best, South Africa’s bowling was