South Africa 136-8 in 18 overs (Wolvaardt 65, Kelly 3-29, Canning 2-8) beat Ireland 120 all out in 17.4 overs (Paul 29, Kapp 4-24, Sekhukhune 2-18) by 16 runs
Scotland 163-5 (Carter 33, K Bryce 32, Chatterji 32, Siegers 2-15) beat Netherlands 105 all out (Overdijk 28, Fraser 3-21, Fontenla 2-2, Maqsood 2-19) by 58 runs
A low-key but useful pair of World Cup warm-ups in the East Midlands ended with comfortable wins for South Africa and Scotland, though both chasing sides hung around long enough to make the bowlers work.
First up at Loughborough, Ireland asked South Africa to bat and must have felt that 136 in an 18-over contest kept them firmly in the match. It was, after all, built almost entirely around Laura Wolvaardt, who rattled 65 from 37 balls with seven fours and three sixes. No-one else passed 15, Cara Murray’s leg-spin and an accurate spell from Arlene Kelly (3-29) checking the middle order.
Ireland’s reply never quite caught fire. Leah Paul’s measured 29 hinted at a platform, only for Marizanne Kapp to slice through the line-up. Bowling full enough to draw drives but finding just enough movement, she finished with 4-24. “The body feels good, rhythm’s there, so that’s pleasing,” she said afterwards. Returning speedster Shabnim Ismail backed her up with 1-25; Nadine de Klerk and Nonkululeko Mlaba kept things tight. Once Paul miscued to mid-off the required rate climbed beyond reach and Ireland were done with two balls unused.
A few junctions up the M1, Scotland were just as tidy. Captain Kathryn Bryce and teenager Darcey Carter posted busy thirties; Priyanz Chatterji (32 off 19) and Gabriella Fontenla (20 off 11) then pinched 45 from the last four overs, lifting the total to 163.
Netherlands did not lack intent but stumbled to 33-4, Katherine Fraser’s off-breaks again proving awkward. Abtaha Maqsood, flighting it above the eyeline, collected 2-19, while Fontenla’s left-arm seam returned a miserly 2-2 from two overs. Only Frederique Overdijk, unbeaten on 28, resisted for long; even so, 58 runs was the eventual margin.
Both victors will feel there is polishing to do—South Africa’s middle-order wobble, Scotland’s handful of wides—but with the tournament proper looming, minutes in the legs and wins on the sheet are exactly what was required.
