White Ferns In Africa: Series Wrapped Up at 4-1
N-Doddz
After sliding in a few changes to their starting line up, the White Ferns again re-shuffled their side with Sam Curtis coming back in for Thmasyn Netwon for the fifth ODI. Just as a few changes didn't rock the boat for the previous ODI, the Ferns again showcased their ability with bat and ball to wrap up the series against South Africa with a 95-run victory.
The Ferns had been bowling first a fair bit in this series and were first up to bat this time around, putting 208/8 on the board from their 50 overs. Perhaps the most encouraging aspect of the Ferns' work with the bat throughout this series has been how different players are chipping in with runs around the rock that is Amy Satterthwaite, with Rachel Priest dismissed for a duck it was up to opener Natalie Dodd to enjoy life among the runs.
Dodd hit 52 off 107 balls, taking her time to set up the innings and she needed to after the Ferns were left struggling on 10/3. Dodd was joined by Satterthwaite who came in at No.5 - Suzie Bates came in at No.4 and scored 1 - with Satterthwaite playing a more attacking role with 42 off 47 balls.
The Ferns then enjoyed contributions from Katie Perkins, who hit 34 off 45 and Sam Curtis, who was left not out on 42. Satterthwaite, Perkins and Curtis all scored with strike-rates over 75, thus pushing the Ferns up over 200 after Dodd was dismissed in the 32nd over.
Lea Tahuhu then knocked the top off of South Africa's batting line up, getting both opening batswomen caught-behind and leaving SA 15/2 in the 6th over. Tahuhu finished with 2/20 off 7 overs and Erin Bermingham then got in on the act with 3/28 off 8.25 overs, with 2 of Bermingham's wickets also falling into the gloves of wicket-keeper Priest, giving Priest 4 catches for the first 4 wickets.
Bates didn't feature too much with the bat, you can't keep her out of the action though as she took 3/17 in 5 overs and was on a hat-trick after dismissing Sune Luus and Ayabonga Khaka with consecutive deliveries. If Bates ain't scoring runs, she's taking wickets and it's the same for Satterthwaite as she didn't take a wicket, yet she continued her streak of run-scoring with four-straight notable scores (47, 89*, 81*, 42) and we can extend that strek to all five games in this series considering that Satterthwaite has contributed in every game with runs or wickets; 4/13, 47, 89*, 3/33 + 81* and 42.
Morna Nielsen had a tough afternoon with the ball, as she went for 12 runs off her 3 overs without wicket. Nielsen had taken at least a wicket in her last three games and that was always accompanied by very few runs conceded off her bowling, so for Nielsen to conceded 4rpo is pretty damn crazy. Hannah Rowe also went without a wicket, however the youngster was impressive through 3 overs, only conceding 2.66rpo.
The Ferns have taken a 4-1 lead in this series that SA won't be able to chase down, which could see coach Haidee Tiffin roll a few more changes. The likes of Bates, Satterthwaite, Nielsen and Priest could do with a cheeky rest, especially with a squad that has a few youngsters in it who could benefit from game time in the remaining two fixtures. The sixth ODI goes down on Saturday, so we'll be back on Sunday.