Proteas women start T20 World Cup with emphatic Windies victory
Captain Laura Wolvaardt and opening partner Tazmin Brits led the Proteas women to an emphatic ten-wicket victory over the West Indies at the T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
Both scored undefeated half-centuries while chasing a target of 119 and surpassed that with 13 balls to spare.
Earlier, Nonkululeko Mlaba was the pick of the South African bowlers, taking four wickets.
The South Africans, who lost to Australia in last year's final in Cape Town, have a new captain in Wolvaardt, who is keen to build on that performance.
"Reaching our first-ever World Cup final in 2023 was a big landmark moment for us," she wrote on the ICC website ahead of the tournament.
The Proteas upset England in the semi-finals.
"It was a big 'breaking the barriers and pushing the boundaries' moment for the team,” Wolvaardt said.
"Before that, we'd made the semi-finals on a number of occasions, so to be able to go that one step further was very important for us as a group.
"Now we'd like to go that one step further and lift the trophy."
The Proteas’ next match is against England in Sharjah on Monday. They will then play group matches against Scotland and Bangladesh.
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