Proteas Women U19 captain Kayla Reyneke. Archives
Monalisa Legodi and captain Kayla Reyneke put up formidable performances to push the Proteas U19 Women through to the next round of the T20 World Cup.
A pin-point 4/4 from two overs ensured Legodi was named player of the match as the Proteas swept Ireland by seven wickets in the Super 6 round.
The game was shortened to 10 overs due to inclement weather in Sarawak, Malaysia, with Ireland winning the toss and choosing to bat first.
Faw Cowling struck the first blow in her opening over catching Freya Sargent with a painful lbw.
The Irish neither gained nor sustained any momentum since the fall of the first wicket.
Legodi and Reyneke then cleaned up the middle batting order and into the tail end, with Nthabiseng Nini also snatching a wicket.
Reyneke claimed 3/2 from her 1.4 overs.
At nine runs, Sargent put the highest score on the board for the Irish, who were no match for the swing Legodi was getting in the Sarawak conditions.
Legodi said she took advantage of the conditions.
Reyneke said she was proud of the victory and especially with how the bowlers attacked under the Malaysian conditions.
The 19-year-old said there was no secret sauce but rather just backed themselves and their strengths.
The U19 Proteas held the Irish to 35 runs within their allotted overs.
Opener Simone Lourens got things going with a couple of boundaries despite losing her partner Jemma Botha, who was caught lbw by Jennifer Jackson.
Lourens knocked 14/12 before losing her wicket.
The captain returned to the pitch to put up a fight with the bat, carding 16/17 and closed the game off for her country with Mieke Van Voorst.
From the 16 teams that started the tournament, 12 have progressed through after finishing in the top three places of the four groups.
Those sides have been placed into two Super Six groups. Each team will play two games in the Super Sixes.
At the end of two fixtures, the top two sides from the two Super Six groups will proceed to the semifinals.
Group 1: India, Australia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Scotland, West Indies
Group 2: South Africa, England, Nigeria, USA, Ireland, New Zealand
The Proteas will play USA in their Next Super Six bout on Tuesday.