South Africa have reached yet another Women’s World Cup semi-final with matches to spare, and batter Anneke Bosch believes the side are finally ready to push beyond the last-four stage. They face Australia in Indore on Saturday; the winners head to Navi Mumbai to meet India, the losers fly east to Guwahati to take on England.
“We’ve been really good at being consistent in big tournaments, and different players doing well at different stages of the tournament,” Bosch said. “It’s just something that works for us when we get to tournaments like these and motivates us to do well. Reaching a couple of semi-finals in the [recent] past just gives us more confidence.
“But now obviously we want to take it one step further because in the ODI World Cup, we haven’t [reached the final] before. So, it would mean a lot to us – and that’s what you compete for and what you’re here for – to make it to the final and, hopefully, lift the trophy. The fact that we have participated in a couple of semifinals now just helps us to deal with that pressure.”
South Africa’s recent record supports her optimism. Since 2017 the women’s side have contested semi-finals at two ODI World Cups and two T20 World Cups, finishing runners-up in last year’s T20 edition. Twelve members of the current 15-strong squad were present at both of those T20 tournaments. The bowling core of Ayabonga Khaka, Masabata Klaas, Tumi Sekhukhune and Nonkululeko Mlaba has remained intact since the 2022 ODI event, giving the attack clear roles and rhythm.
Continuity is only part of the story. “It’s a combination of a lot of things,” Bosch said of the broader winning culture. “We are a massive sporting nation and we love to play for the country, and make the country and the people back at home proud. [A key factor is] our resilience and the way we come together as a country in big tournaments like these. We play for each other and we play for people back at home.”
The men’s programme echoes that narrative: a T20 World Cup final and a Champions Trophy semi-final over the past 18 months, plus deep runs for both Under-19 teams. Each success, Bosch argues, “just gives us more confidence” across the board.
Australia, though, remain a formidable roadblock. South Africa have beaten them only once in 18 women’s ODIs. Meg Lanning’s side, still defending champions, rarely give anything away. Yet with a settled XI, a run of knockout experience and belief that “we want to take it one step further”, South Africa sense the gap has narrowed.
Saturday will show whether that conviction is justified—or whether another semi-final rematch with England awaits. Either way, the Proteas arrive armed with recent history, familiar faces and a clear, if challenging, path to a first ODI crown.
