Proteas all-rounder Marizanne Kapp played a critical role in her side achieving a historic victory over England after failing in two previous attempts in 2017 and 2022. The victory over England meant the South African women’s side will be the first South African senior team to play in a Cricket World Cup.
South Africa winning by 125 runs was probably even sweeter since England beat South Africa by 137 runs in 2022. In that semi-final match, Kapp contributed 2 wickets for 52 runs and scored 21 from 28 balls with the bat.
In the 2025 semi-final match, Kapp had a much bigger impact as she scored 42 from 33 balls, including four fours and one six. She joined Laura Wolvaardt for the fourth wicket with the Proteas on 119 for 3 after losing those three wickets within 19 balls, and she immediately went on the attack when she got in, helping Wolvaardt calm down.
“Kappie was amazing, taking pressure off me. She kept going.” said Laura Wolvaardt.
The pair would go on to make 72 from 66 balls, and their partnership was the catalyst to help South Africa set England a target of 320.
Kapp’s biggest influence in the match came in the form of the ball; she took 5 for 20 to help the Proteas bowl out England for 194. Marizanne took her tournament wicket tally to 12 wickets, which is the same amount as in the 2022 World Cup edition. She is currently the fifth highest wicket-taker, and in the last World Cup, she was the fourth highest wicket-taker. Her bowling average and strike rate are better at 15 and 24 compared to 26 and 33. The reason for her better average and strike rate at the current World Cup is that she has only bowled 48 overs compared to 66.3 overs in 2022.
At the age of 35, Kapp has built a memorable career and that growth is also visible in her batting. In the 2022 edition, she scored 203 runs at an average of 40, and her highest score was 42. In this edition, while her average is lower at 33, she has scored 204 runs with a high score of 68 not out and has passed the 50 mark twice. While her strike rate has increased from 92 to 108, her six-hitting ability has also improved, as she has hit 6 sixes compared to one in 2022. She has faced 971 balls in this tournament compared to the 220 balls she faced in the previous edition.
At face value, while the Proteas have gone one better in this edition of the World Cup, Kapp’s numbers have stayed relatively the same, except for her performance in the semi-finals of both World Cups. With one match to go for the Proteas to create more history, it will be interesting to see how she performs in the World Cup final.
Pic cred: ICC
