by After being put in to bat, Australia did not show the usual swagger and confidence expected from the six-time winners of this tournament.
In fact, they were shy and only achieved 11 boundaries in total. This is despite the enviable batting depth they possess, which often results in them playing much more freely than other teams who tend to protect fragile, inexperienced middles.
The early departures of Harris and Wareham weren’t too worrying, with players like Perry, Litchfield, McGrath and Ash Gardner still coming in – but with each exit that went without acceleration, it felt like such a kickstart would never happen .
In the end it felt like a huge waste to be five wickets down with the destructive Gardner and Annabel Sutherland waiting in the dugout.
And they were punished for that caution, as South Africa’s innings was completely inconsistent.
Wolvaardt controlled the ball beautifully from the start with her trademark exquisite covering attacks, but Bosch’s strike was a spectacle.
Against England in the group stage, the 31-year-old sputtered to 18 from 26 balls and didn’t look great on three, but against the strongest force in the world she hit the ball with as much clarity and power as we’ve had yet in this tournament to see.
It is the highest individual score to date and it was astonishing that it was achieved under the greatest pressure and against such a quality opponent – and such was the ease of South Africa’s victory that Marizanne Kapp did not have to beat.
Australia didn’t do too much wrong with the ball as Bosch didn’t even offer a chance, but they will rue their lack of ambition with the bat as they took South Africa one step closer to their first World Cup title.
