Moreeng impressed with Proteas’ batting at WWC

South Africa

South Africa women’s coach Hilton Moreeng was impressed at the way his team improved their efforts with the bat at the recent World Cup in England, saying it is something the side can build on.

Opener Laura Wolvaardt unsurprisingly topped the batting averages for the Proteas at the tournament, while captain Dané van Niekerk was the best bowler – not just amongst South Africans, but overall.

Only 18-years-old, Wolvaardt, one of three SA players named in the Team of the Tournament, scored 324 runs at an impressive average of 64.80.

She struck four half-centuries in the seven matches she played, with a top score of 71.

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Fellow opener, Lizelle Lee was another of the stand-out players with the bat. She made an aggregate of 269 runs at an average of 44.83.

Lee’s strike rate of 103.46 was what particularly stood out as it was the highest amongst openers, while her 12 sixes were the most by any batter.

One other player did well with the bat and that was ex-skipper Mignon du Preez, whose average of 57.25 placed her seventh overall. She recorded 229 runs in total.

Moreeng said: “Batting has always been our headache. The way the batters came to the party at this World Cup showed the amount of maturity, growth and work that was put in.

“The power-hitting was a real highlight and it’s an important element that can change the entire face of a game should a player be able to do that.

“So overall it was fantastic and it’s something we can certainly build on.”

The South Africans won the hearts of many in their run to the semi-final over the past month in the UK. They were eventually beaten by the hosts, who went on to win the final against India at Lord’s on Sunday.

2017 Women's World Cup Hilton Moreeng Proteas women

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