EXCLUSIVE | We owe them one, says Marizanne Kapp as they meet England in World Cup semi-final

Who can ever forget the groundbreaking achievements that the Proteas women have pulled off in the last three years?

Two back-to-back T20 World Cup finals — one at home in 2023 and another in the United Arab Emirates a year ago — paint a vivid picture of a unit on its way to achieving even bigger things in the near future.

Perhaps the biggest achievement was beating Australia in the semi-final of the 2024 T20 World Cup in the UAE. Everybody knows just how near impossible it is to beat Australia in World Cups, and moreso in the knockout stages. However, this Proteas women’s team defied the odds and pulled off a victory that will be remembered as the turning point in South African women’s cricket.

On Wednesday, Proteas captain Laura Wolvaardt — alongside experienced players such as Marizanne Kapp and rising talents including Nonkululeko Mlaba — will be looking to defy the odds once again as they face England in the semi-final in Guwahati.

In the previous two editions of the tournament, England ousted South Africa in the semi-final — a feat that Kapp feels needs rectifying on Wednesday. The all-rounder believes South Africa owe England a taste of their own medicine as they look to secure a spot in the final for the first time in an ODI World Cup.

“I feel like we owe them one,” Kapp told Independent Newspapers. “In the previous ODI World Cup, we beat them in the group-stage games, and then they gave us a hiding in the semi-finals.”

Kapp added that the team is not only focused on securing a place in the final in Mumbai this coming Sunday. The 35-year-old expressed a deep desire within the team to go all the way and bring the trophy home to South Africa.

“I think it’s not only about going past the semi-finals in ODI cricket. You don’t just want to be in an ODI World Cup final — you want to win it. It’s any cricketer’s dream to win a World Cup,” Kapp said.

“That would be the cherry on top if we get to do that. But yes, we will take it one game at a time. Hopefully, we can make our country proud and move to that World Cup final that has never been achieved before. But it doesn’t stop there.

“For now, the focus is the semi-final, and it would mean absolutely everything to make it into that World Cup final.”

England will fancy their chances against South Africa in the semi-final, not only because of their record against them in previous ODI World Cups but also due to their dominant victory in the round-robin stage earlier this month. South Africa were handed a heavy defeat, losing by ten wickets after being bowled out for 69. The Proteas went on to suffer a seven-wicket loss to Australia, ending the group stage with two defeats.

Kapp believes the team have moved past those setbacks and emphasised that valuable lessons have been learned.

“We’ve moved past that now. It’s not ideal — we’re not happy with our performances in those two games — but I think we have to look at the bigger picture,” she said.

“We still played well enough in the five games that we did win, and that’s what it’s about. We’re still disappointed, yes, but we’ve moved on.

"Now our main focus is the semi-final and performing in that game. I feel like we’ve had our bad games now, and we owe it to ourselves to put up a good performance in the next one.”

The semi-final is set to get underway at 11.30am at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati.