“No DNA, Just RSA.”
Welcome to another lesson in South African slangs.
Just before the Men’s T20 World Cup final earlier this year, ESPNcricinfo introduced its readers to a short an sharp Afrikaans expression that has come to sum up South African sporting achievements. “Hulle weet nie wat ons weet nie (They don’t know what we know),” is a rallying cry to remind South Africans of their difficult past, what differentiates them from people from elsewhere, and their determination, but it’s not the only national proverb.
“No DNA, just RSA,” is a shorter, sharper phrase that also does the rounds on social media and is entirely apt for their semi-final win over Australia at the Women’s T20 World Cup. It tells a story of not having anything inherently special inbuilt in you or the systems around you, but channeling a champion mindset of overcoming adversity to come out on top. That is what the South African team did to register just their second T20I win over Australia in 11 attempts, their first at a World Cup and their most complete performance in a major semi-final.
An eight-wicket victory with 16 balls to spare is as comprehensive as it sounds, and it came from a side that only first tasted victory over Australia earlier this year, after failing in eight attempts over 15 years. It also came from a side who made the right decisions against an opposition that has been tactically superior in the women’s game for decades, who had not been beaten in a T20 World Cup match in 15 games and had not lost a semi-final in 15 years.
Laura Wolvaardt‘s decision to bowl first went against conventional knockout game wisdom of putting runs on the board but was grounded in evidence. Seven of the 11 games played in Dubai at this tournament were won by chasing teams, no-one still really knows what a good score on these surfaces is. And of the five T20Is Australia have lost since the last World Cup, four were when they batted first. “We feel like runs on the board wouldn’t necessarily affect that (Australian) unit. It seems like they can chase whatever they want and are really up for a chase. So we just thought bowling first just suited us a bit better. Hopefully they didn’t know how hard to go, which ended up being the case,” Wolvaardt said afterwards.
It wasn’t just a case of uncharacteristic Australian uncertainty, it was that South Africa made it tough for them, particularly in the powerplay. With some swing on offer, Marizanne Kapp and Ayabonga Khaka were disciplined, and immediately afterwards their spinners backed them up by bowling slow and straight and their fielding was generally energetic. Boundary options were rare for Australia and by the end of the 16th over, they had only hit six fours. They finished with 11 fours and no sixes, and seemed to be “10 to 20 runs short,” on Wolvaardt’s assessment.
Still, to watch South Africa chase in a knockout match of a World Cup is to ride an emotional rollercoaster that starts with hope, twists in anticipation, turns at panic and usually ends in disappointment. When Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits managed only four runs off the first two overs, a small but largely South African-supporting crowd grew restless and the boundaries that followed would have done little to decrease their stress levels.
Anneke Bosch speaks after her 74 not out off 48 helped take South Africa past Australia and into the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup final
Brits’ first four was only thanks to a misfield from Annabel Sutherland at long-on and Wolvaardt’s came off an edge. Even when Brits cleared long-on for the first six of the match in the fourth over, hearts were in throats. Taking risks, however calculated they are, has historically also not ended well for South Africa. When Brits was bowled by a Sutherland jaffa, the familiar feelings of dread were resurrected, especially because of who was in next.
Anneke Bosch, with a strike rate of 72.97 from three innings before this match, could easily have botched it. Instead, she bossed it.
Seemingly out of nowhere, Bosch announced herself with a sweep off Sophie Molineux that beat deep midwicket and then danced down the track to send one over mid-off, and Australia had conceded their highest powerplay at this tournament of 43. But Bosch’s big-hitting did not surprise her own changeroom. Over the last two weeks, anyone from the South African camp who was asked maintained that she had been hitting the ball really well in the nets and that they were keeping her in the side because they believed she would come good. They also insisted she would stay at No. 3, ahead of Kapp, because it helped manage their premier allrounder’s workload. None of it seemed convincing because of Bosch’s record.
With only one fifty from her last 14 T20I innings – including a 46 in Pakistan last month when she had to retire hurt – Australia were unlikely to have earmarked Bosch as the game-changer but Wolvaardt said her career-best was a long time in the making. “Anneke and Baakier (Abrahams), our batting coach, meet for coffee for like an hour every single day and just talk about batting,” Wolvaardt said. “He’s really been on her case, chasing her and making sure that she talks to him about her options.”
Bosch described Abrahams, who has previously worked at men’s provincial sides in South Africa’s domestic system as having, “opened a whole new world of batting,” for her and boosted her confidence. “We spoke about all the different options and plans against different bowlers in different conditions. A lot of what happened today, we can give credit to him. He kept believing in us, or in me, even after a couple of bad games. He had my back and he believed in me. He told me a good innings is coming.”
And so to the much-praised additions to the South African coaching staff, who were appointed in May. Abrahams is their first full-time batting coach and has made a noticeable difference to their approach and many of their strike rates but it’s the spin-bowling consultant and former international Paul Adams who has made the most impact on their mindset. As a player who rode the highs of expectation after becoming South Africa’s youngest Test cricketer at the age of 18 to one who suffered the lows of being dropped, going through coaching hiccups at Western Province and the emotional upheaval of the Social Justice and Nation Building hearings, Adams has seen it all. He has used that knowledge to bring a fresh, innovative mindset to the team and does something special and new before every match.
This time it was meditation. “We all got in the huddle, he made us close our eyes, picture being here, listen to the sounds, listen to the noise and see ourselves doing well. It was like a guided visualisation,” Wolvaardt said.
Happily for South Africa, they had some success they could picture in their mind after they beat Australia in Canberra earlier this year. Ten of the 11 players who were involved in that match were in this semi-final line-up and all of them had their own reasons to believe. “It made us realise that it is possible for us to beat them this time because we have done it before,” Bosch said.
As tennis great Billie-Jean said, “If you can see it, you can be it,” and South Africa have done well to adopt that mantra too. The women’s team has always represented a diverse cross-section of society, not just across the racial spectrum but also the socio-economic one. Many of the players in this XI come from challenging backgrounds, where their basic needs were not being met, never mind their sporting ambitions nurtured. Through development programmes, small amounts of funding and a lot of blind faith, here they are. Compare that to Australia’s uber-professionalised system which is far ahead of anyone else’s, and the meaning of “No DNA, just RSA” might become clearer.
And that is where the magic lies in what this South African side has already achieved. They have made a habit of delivering masterclasses in the art of possibility and they don’t intend to stop. “I try to make sure every day that I inspire,” Khaka, one of the greatest success stories of this side said. “Especially for the people that come from certain parts that I come from. I just want to send a message: it is possible. Anything that you want, you can do it.”
In February 2023, South Africa’s women’s team became the first senior side to reach a World Cup final and now they have done it again. In between their two achievements, the men’s side also reached a World Cup final. Is the next step there for the taking? “Tune in to watch,” Wolvaardt said. “There could be something very special happening for a lot of South Africans in the next few days.”