The Junior Proteas Women side have one final hurdle to climb to clinch South Africa's second under-19 World Cup trophy after thumping Australia by five-wickets in their semi-final.
Listen to this article 5 min Listen to this article 5 min South Africa (SA) smashed Australia by five-wickets in the under-19 Cricket World Cup in Malaysia this morning to book their place in the final tournament for the first time.
They have set up a date with destiny against reigning champions India on Sunday.
Leg-spinner Ashleigh van Wyk claimed a spectacular four-wicket haul, conceding only 17 runs in her three overs to help restrict Australia to 105 for eight after 20 overs.
It is currently the monsoon season in Malaysia, which has meant that torrential rains have fallen on most days. Pitches have therefore been turgid and slow throughout the tournament with par scores being less than run-a-ball.
A fast-start by opener Jemma Botha, however, who smacked a quickfire 37 off 24 deliveries -- which included five fours and two sixes -- meant that the run-chase never got away from the South Africans.
Skipper Kayla Reyneke scored a run-a-ball 26 but was dismissed when the team needed just three. Mieke van Voorst and Seshnie Naidu did enough to get the team over the line with 11 deliveries to spare. It was the first time a score over 100 was...
