South Africa: Women's Cricket World Cup 2022 - How South Africa Fares On the World Stage

By Kamilla Swart

In 2022 the role of hosting the Women's Cricket World Cup went to New Zealand. The tournament, held every four years, began on 4 March, with the final scheduled for 3 April. Second ranked South Africa was the only African team to make it into the competition. Although Zimbabwe makes the world one day international rankings, the team never qualified. We asked sports management academic and women's sport expert Kamilla Swart about the Proteas' history - and their performance at the tournament. After qualifying in a group stage, eight teams play round robin matches before four teams play semi finals to determine the finals.

What's South Africa's history at the cup?

The 2022 International Cricket Council (ICC) Women's World Cup is the 12th edition of the most anticipated tournament in the sport. The women's cup was first held in 1973 with only seven teams. South Africa's women's national cricket team is known as the Proteas (like the men's team) after the national flower. They first participated in the world cup in India in 1997, reaching the quarter-finals. The team had returned to the world arena for the first time, after the end of an international sports boycott against the white minority government's apartheid policies.

In the 2000 edition South Africa fared well, beaten by Australia in the semi-finals. But when the women's world cup was hosted on home soil for the first time, the country only finished 7th in the group stage. And 2009 was also a nightmare with South Africa exiting in the group stage. In 2013 in India they reached the next stage - the 'super six' - to finish 6th. Returning to form in England in 2017, the Proteas again made the semi-finals, losing to England by two wickets.

In 2022, South Africa entered the tournament with the hope of finally bringing it home - and as the continent's only representatives. Other teams include Australia (six-time winners), Bangladesh (making their debut), England (four-time winners), India (twice runners-up), Pakistan, New Zealand and the West Indies (once runners-up).

Due to COVID-19, qualification for the 2022 cup was decided through world rankings. The first seven editions were invitational, while a qualifying event took place from the 2005 edition in South Africa. 2017 witnessed the launch of the ICC Women's Championship. It was conceptualised to grow the women's game through a more extensive bilateral playing programme.

How is South Africa looking this year?

South Africa's women started their campaign as the second best team in the current ICC women's one day international standing. The Proteas came to this world cup with five consecutive series wins prior to the COVID period in January 2020. They had beaten New Zealand, Pakistan, India and West Indies.

In their first encounter against Bangladesh at the Women's Cricket World Cup 2022, a rusty team managed to win by 32 runs, with Ayabonga Khaka declared player of the match for her outstanding bowling figures. However, they managed to score only 207 runs in their 50 overs. Taking on Pakistan next, South Africa posted a target of 224 runs and just managed to restrict Pakistan to 217. Shabnim Ismail was pick of the bowlers.

South Africa against England was a nail-biting match. South Africa restricted current champions England to only 235 with the exceptional bowling of Marizanne Kapp. This was followed by a great display of batting from the whole team, particularly the youngster Laura Wolvaardt, captain Suné Luus and Marizanne Kapp. The team had managed to grab another two points. For her all-round effort Kapp was declared player of the match.

It's without a doubt that South Africa are an equal contender for the 2022 cup despite being without their captain, Dane van Niekerk, who is injured.

How is the women's game faring generally?

South Africa's men's team has not been very successful recently, while the opposite is true for the women's team. The current team is a mix of youthful and experienced cricketers who are now consistently performing well on the international circuit. Wolvaardt is still very young at this stage, however, she has broken several records. She's the youngest woman to pass the 1,000-run mark and the youngest South African (female or male) to 2,000 runs. Ismail, an experienced campaigner, managed to grab 150 wickets for South Africa in one day internationals and became the 7th player to take this record.

Overall, Women's cricket is gaining global attention. Increasingly, sponsors are available, matches are broadcast and spectators are present. The women's game is on the path to mainstream recognition. One can no longer say that cricket is just a men's game. There is no longer a "man of the match" but rather a "player of the match" announced. There's, no "batsman" but rather a "batter".

Sports is not just used to empower but also to raise awareness against gender-based violence. Cricket South Africa's Black Day campaign was launched in 2021 to highlight violence against women. The ICC has also put the women's game development as a top priority on their agenda.

This article originally appeared on The Conversation

Photo: Cricket South Africa