South Africa 108 for 2 (Goodall 48, Bosch 44*) beat Ireland 104 (Kavanagh 33, Sekhukhune 3-20, Mlaba 2-15) by eight wickets
On a day so windy that it was too dangerous for the broadcast cameras to be mounted on the stanchions, it was Ireland who were blown away in the series decider against South Africa. After Ireland took the lead in the opening match on Friday, the contest between the two sides became progressively less intense as South Africa’s bowlers adjusted to the slower, lower surfaces and proved difficult to get away.
Ireland’s stand-in captain did not face any of the first 10 balls of the innings but watched from the other end as her opening partner Leah Paul struggled against Mlaba and was then caught at wide slip off Khaka. Lewis faced two balls off Khaka but was soon back to the non-striker’s end for Mlaba’s second over. After five overs, Lewis had scored only six off 12 balls. She went on to score 23 more runs off the next 20 balls she faced, including five fours and shared in a 54-run second-wicket partnership with Shauna Kavanagh. They set Ireland up well but, as was the case in the previous two matches, Lewis was unable to bat through and her dismissal caused a mini-collapse. Ireland lost their last eight wickets for 39 runs in eight overs to fall away in the second half of their innings.
Good, better, but not yet best