Women's T20 World Cup 2024: 1st Semi-final, Australia vs South Africa - Key players to watch

In the first semi-final of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024, the six-time champions Australia Women will face South Africa Women at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Thursday evening. In the last edition (2023), they met in the final of the tournament, where Australia Women won by 19 runs against the hosts. 

In the ongoing tournament, Australia Women are the only unbeaten as they finished Group A by winning all four group stage matches. They beat Sri Lanka Women, New Zealand Women, Pakistan Women, and India Women in the group stage.

Meanwhile, South Africa Women finished in second place in Group B with six points after four matches. Apart from losing their second match of the tournament against England Women, Proteas won the matches against West Indies Women, Scotland Women, and Bangladesh Women.   

In 10 WT20I meetings between Australia Women and South Africa Women, the Aussies won nine games and the Proteas won only once. Meanwhile, they met seven times in the ICC Women's T20 World Cup, and all the matches ended with the same team's success.  

Australia Women

Australian all-rounders are playing important roles in this tournament. Although there are not many big scores, they have proven their depths in bowling and batting. 

Ellyse Perry: All-rounder Ellyse Perry is the leading run-scorer for Australia Women in this tournament with 101 runs. While she hasn’t delivered a ball in this tournament yet, she played some useful cameos in this tournament by scoring 17, 30, 22 not out, and 32 runs.  

Beth Mooney: Opener Beth Mooney started this tournament with two 40s, as she scored 43 not out against Sri Lanka Women and 40 against New Zealand Women. The left-handed batter scored 15 and 2 runs in the next two games against Pakistan Women and India Women, respectively.

Megan Schutt: The right-arm pacer Megan Schutt is the leading wicket-taker as a pacer in this tournament, as she has picked up eight wickets. She took at least one wicket in all four matches of the competition, including three wickets in the first two matches against Sri Lanka Women and New Zealand Women, respectively, and won the Player of the Match awards in both those games. 

Sophie Molineux: The left-arm spinner Sophie Molineux has taken seven wickets in this tournament, including two wickets in three games (against Sri Lanka Women, New Zealand Women, and India Women). She won the Player of the Match award in the last fixture against India Women.   

Annabel Sutherland: All-rounder Annabel Sutherland has played an important role as a medium-fast bowler in this tournament. Although she went wicketless in their tournament opener against Sri Lanka Women, she got three wickets against New Zealand Women and two wickets each against Pakistan Women and India Women.

Ashleigh Gardner: Another all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner has also shined this tournament with the ball, as the off-spinner has taken six wickets in this tournament, including a four-wicket haul against Pakistan Women to win the Player of the Match award. 

 

South Africa Women

South African openers, Tanzim Brits and Laura Wolvaardt are in great form, while Nonkululeko Mlaba is dominating with the ball. Without any doubt, Marizanne Kapp is playing a key role in the team. However, the depth of batting and bowling, both haven’t been tested properly in this tournament yet.  

Tazmin Brits: Opener Tazmin Brits is the leading run-scorer in the ongoing tournament with 155 runs in four innings (average 51.66). After scoring 57 not out against West Indies Women, the right-handed opening batter scored 43 and 42 runs against Scotland Women and Bangladesh Women, respectively. In the last game against Bangladesh Women, Brits won the Player of the Match award.

Laura Wolvaardt: South African captain Laura Wolvaardt is among the strongest points in Proteas batting. She recorded three consecutive 40+ scores, including 59 not out against West Indies Women to secure a 10-wicket win. The right-handed opening batter also scored 42 and 40 runs against England Women and Scotland Women, respectively. 

Marizanne Kapp: The 34-year-old all-rounder Marizanne Kapp is an important name in the team. Her aggressive batting in the middle-order and useful bowling are the assets for the Proteas. In this tournament, she has taken four wickets and scored 82 runs, including the Player of the Match worth 43 runs against Scotland Women.

Nonkululeko Mlaba: The left-arm spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba is the second leading wicket-taker in this tournament, having taken nine wickets. She took at least one wicket in every game of the tournament, including four against West Indies Women and three against Scotland Women. Mlaba won the Player of the Match award against West Indies Women.