Cricket: Pressure on South Africa ahead of crucial Women’s Cricket World Cup clash against New Zealand
Proteas need to bounce back after England mauling
The 2025 Women’s Cricket World Cup is now into its second week, and we have already seen a few incredible matches, capped off by India’s stunning 88-run victory over arch-rivals Pakistan in Colombo on Sunday afternoon.
Now the focus shifts to the Proteas, who are set to face the White Ferns on Monday in what is a crucial match for the two teams at the bottom of the standings, and you can get all the key info for this fixture by checking out our New Zealand Women vs South Africa Women prediction.
South Africa made a dismal start to their World Cup campaign, suffering a crushing 10-wicket defeat to England in their first match. The Proteas only managed 69 runs before being bowled out, while England wrapped up the match in the 15th over.
The Proteas' paltry 69-run total now stands as their third-lowest ever in one-day internationals and their second-worst at a World Cup. Wicket-keeper batter Sinalo Jafta was the only South African to manage a score of double digits.
However, New Zealand’s World Cup campaign also got off to a poor start - albeit not as bad as their upcoming opponent’s - as they were beaten by 89 runs by the defending world champions Australia in Match 2 of the competition. Still, they are the favourites against RSA, according to all the best online betting sites.
As it stands, the White Ferns enter this match second-bottom in the standings, with a net run rate of -1.780, while South Africa’s big loss in their opener sees them sat at the bottom of the table with an eyesore -3.773 net run rate.
South Africa confident about chances against the White Ferns
Despite their awful start to the 2025 World Cup, the Proteas are still confident about their chances in their second match against New Zealand. Speaking to the media in her pre-match presser ahead of their clash with the White Ferns, Sinalo Jafta explained:
“Every game is important. I think playing each team, you literally have to take it one game at a time. I mean, our next opposition is New Zealand. We know that when it comes to being tactical, they're probably high up there, so we have to bring in falls. Tomorrow is another opportunity. A lot of different individuals will pick up their hands in tomorrow's game.”
While it is still very early in the tournament, the Proteas cannot afford to suffer another defeat like they did against England when they step out at the Holkar Stadium on Monday, or their net run rate could prove far too poor to pull back later in the competition.
Notably, New Zealand have won three of their last four matches against South Africa, though all of those were in the shortest format. In ODIs, the Proteas have beaten the White Ferns in two of their last three encounters.
