Green, Halliday, Mair drive New Zealand to ODI series win

New Zealand clinched the ODI series against South Africa with an emphatic 66-run win in the third ODI at the Basin Reserve in Wellington on Saturday, April 4.

Maddy Green notched up three figures to help New Zealand recover from a shaky start after they were reduced to 3/3. The slide was triggered by Tumi Sekhukhune, who is approaching the landmark of 50 T20Is. She removed both Suzie Bates and Amelia Kerr, while Ayanda Hlubi got the better of Georgia Plimmer.

South Africa were unable to capitalise on the early incisions though as New Zealand recovered through a heroic 211-run partnership between Green and Brooke Halliday. While Green remained unbeaten on 141, Halliday fell just two shy of her own century as New Zealand posted 306/7.

In reply, South Africa started on a promising note with openers stitching a 68-run stand. That was followed by another 77-run alliance between captain Laura Wolvaardt and Annerie Dercksen that ensured the Proteas were in firm command. Wolvaardt’s dismissal in the 26th over, however, brought about an implosion as South Africa slipped from 145/1 to 154/4.

Despite efforts to rebuild, the chase kept getting derailed with wickets tumbling at regular intervals. Rosemary Mair starred with the ball, picking up an impressive 5-50, as South Africa were bowled out for 240.

Brief Scores: New Zealand 306/7 in 50 overs (Maddy Green 141*, Brooke Halliday 98; Ayanda Hlubi 2-47, Tumi Sekhukhune 2-57) beat South Africa 240 all-out in 46.1 overs (Laura Wolvaardt 69, Annerie Dercksen 47; Rosemary Mair 5-50, Amelia Kerr 2-37) by 66 runs.