Kate Cross was exceptional with the new ball on day one, helping South Africa down to 89 for five before Marizanne Kapp pillaged 150 clear runs to drag her team to a respectable number.
The next day, Heather Knight’s disastrous run-out was the catalyst for a collapse triggered by Anneke Bosch’s probing swing. With a score of 121 out of five, high school friends Nat Sciver and Alice Davidson-Richards rebuilt and counterattacked in a partnership worth 207.
Davidson-Richards fell to 107 on the last ball of the day, but Sciver picked up where she left off. Her unbeaten 169 was riddled with lush drives on the up and clubbed pulls for the square.
After several rain delays, Issy Wong, one of the most exciting characters in the English game, steamed in to rip two wickets under the lights on day three. As in the first innings, she claimed Laura Wolvaardt’s prized wicket to kick off a duel that could define a generation in the women’s game. When South Africa had to hold out, night watchman Tumi Sekhukhune got 132 balls for her 32.
The protagonists served more than this. This competition was meant to prove that women around the world deserve more tests. If the status quo persists, blame the weather for the 22 players who put on a show while they could.