Women's Cricket World Cup: Brave But Error Prone Proteas Fall To Rampant Favourites Australia

• Australia gave South Africa a healthy reality check in this morning's titanic Women's Cricket World Cup match
• The Baggy Green defeated the Proteas by five wickets at the Basin Reserve Cricket Ground in Wellington
• The win kept the almighty Australian's unbeaten run going, while it also subjected the South Africans to their first loss of the tournament

South Africa has never beaten Australia in a women's One Day International before, and unfortunately, it will have to wait for that historic moment.

The unstoppable Baggy Green were too good for the Proteas this morning, defeating the Proteas by five wickets this morning at the Basin Reserve Cricket Ground in Wellington, New Zealand. Chasing an imposing 272 for victory, the Australians made light work of the target, aided by poor South African fielding which saw seven critical catches being dropped in a match Sports Brief observed.

The irrepressible Megan Lanning to scored for the tournament favourites with 135 runs coming off 130 deliveries. This ton came just days after her 97 led the Aussies to chase down another mammoth total against India.

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She was ably supported by Tahlia McGrath (32), Ashleigh Gardner (22), Annabel Sutherland (22*) and Beth Mooney (21) in a well-paced chase during which they never allowed the Proteas bowlers to settle. Shabnim Ismail was brilliant in her seven-over spell for South Africa, deserving much better figures than two wickets for 33 runs as numerous catches were dropped off her bowling.

Earlier, Laura Wolvaardt continued her red-hot run of form, top scoring with 90 runs in South Africa's total of 271/5. Sune Luus (52), Lizelle Lee (36) and Marizanne Kapp (30*) chipped in as they placed pressure on the Australian bowlers.

Sensational catching out in the deep arguably changed the complexion of the match during this innings, as South Africa looked odds-on to pile on more than 300 runs at one stage. This match was seen as something of a precursor to the final, but the Proteas will need to clear their heads first.

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While their opponents are safely into the semifinals already, the South Africans have two chances to book their place in the next round against the West Indies and India respectively, though favourable results before then could do the job for them.

Cricket World Cup: Proteas involved in another thriller, beat New Zealand in last over heartstopper

The South African women's national cricket team won another heart-stopping encounter at the 2022 Cricket World Cup in New Zealand.

As reported by Sports Brief, the Proteas defeated hosts New Zealand by two wickets, scoring the winning runs with just three deliveries left.

Having dismissed New Zealand for 228 runs, South Africa reached 229 for the loss of eight wickets.