South Africa’s women cricketers rewrote the Twenty20 International record book in Potchefstroom on Thursday afternoon, becoming the first women’s side to pass 200 when they reached 205 for one against a hapless Dutch attack.
Their total surpassed the previous record for a Women’s T20 international, the 186 for seven made by New Zealand against the South Africans themselves at Taunton in 2007.
There was also a personal record for opener Shandre Fritz, whose undefeated 116 was the highest individual score in any women’s T20 international.
The only previous century was West Indies’ Deandra Dottin’s 112 not out – also against South Africa – at Basseterre, St Kitts last May. But Fritz could not better Dottin’s extraordinary aggression: the South African faced only 71 deliveries for her 116, hitting twelve fours and two sixes, but Dottin needed only 45 balls for her 112, with seven fours and no fewer than nine sixes.
Fritz also shared in an opening stand of 170 with Trisha Chetty, the highest for any wicket in this class of cricket. The previous best was an undefeated stand of 147 for the fourth wicket, by Karen Rolton and Kate Blackwell for Australia against England at Taunton in 2005. Chetty’s 55 was her best T20 score, and her first half-century.
All the Dutch bowlers came in for severe punishment as Fritz and Chetty piled on the runs, conceding a total of 21 fours and two sixes, although to their credit all of them managed to avoid becoming the most expensive T20 bowler in Women’s International history.
When it came their turn to bat, however, the Orange Lionesses were unable to prevent the hosts from chalking up yet another record, the biggest winning margin in this form of women’s cricket. They battled their way to 90 for seven, but that left them 115 runs short of their opponents’ total. The previous largest margin was 97, recorded by New Zealand against South Africa in that 2007 match in Taunton.