On Tuesday afternoon, South Africa bowled England out for 236 runs in 74.1 overs in their second innings.

England’s captain, Heather Knight, was the standout performer with the bat, scoring 90 off 191 balls. Nat Sciver-Brunt contributed 37, wicketkeeper Amy Jones added 24, and Danni Wyatt-Hodge chipped in with 23.

Lauren Filer. Photo: Morgan Piek

The star of the match, however, was South African left-arm spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba. She delivered a career-best performance, taking 6/67 in 26 overs. Combined with her 4/90 in the first innings, Mlaba made history as the first South African woman to claim more than eight wickets in a Test match and the first to secure a ten-wicket haul in a single match.

Seamer Tumi Sekhukhune also impressed with figures of 2/35, while Nadine de Klerk and the injured Ayanda Hlubi each claimed a wicket.

Anneke Bosch. Photo: Morgan Piek

Having been bowled out for 281 runs in their first innings, South Africa now needs to chase down the challenging target of 351 runs to achieve victory.

This will be a very tough ask for South Africa – while time is not a problem, the deteriorating pitch will need to be navigated. South Africa will need to show a lot of patience with the bat while playing each ball on its merit and adapting to the situation as it unfolds. 

Should South Africa manage to win the Test they will break the world record for the highest run-chase. As it stands, the Lionesses remain the favourites to claim their first Test win in a decade.

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek mvh