Proteas Women Recover from Collapse Thanks to Dercksen Century

Annerie Dercksen hit her first international century to rescue South Africa from a top-order slump and lead them to 315/9 against Sri Lanka in their final tri-series round-robin match in Colombo on Friday.

The 24-year-old all-rounder delivered a match-defining knock, partnering with Chloe Tryon to rebuild the innings after the Proteas had stumbled to 127/6 by the 29th over at R Premadasa Stadium.

Vihanga’s early spell stuns Proteas top order

Off-spinner Dewmi Vihanga tore through South Africa’s middle order in just her third ODI, taking 5-43 after claiming five wickets in her first five overs. Despite her heroics, Sri Lanka couldn’t prevent South Africa from posting a strong total.

Earlier, South Africa had made a promising start after being sent in to bat, with Laura Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits putting on 68 runs for the first wicket. However, Vihanga struck in the 14th over, removing Brits for 38, followed by Wolvaardt for 33 shortly after.

Lara Goodall, Miane Smit, and Sinalo Jafta all departed cheaply, leaving South Africa in deep trouble. Jafta’s promotion ahead of power hitters like Dercksen and Tryon was particularly puzzling, especially with her average of just 11.7 across 35 ODIs.

A truly special moment — a maiden ODI century for Annerie Dercksen ??.

What an outstanding innings, full of skill and composure! ?#AlwaysRising #WozaNawe #BePartOfIt pic.twitter.com/45nbyJtilJ

— Proteas Women (@ProteasWomenCSA) May 9, 2025

Dercksen and Tryon lead the fightback

With the innings in tatters, Dercksen and Tryon added 112 runs in just 88 balls. Dercksen was the aggressor early on, showing power and composure to bring up her maiden century, hitting nine fours and five sixes, the last of which brought up her ton.

Exhausted, Dercksen eventually fell in the 44th over for 100. Tryon then took charge, smashing 74 off just 51 balls, while Nadine de Klerk added a quickfire 32* to help push the total beyond 300.

Final boost and scorecard

Tryon and de Klerk added 66 off the final 30 balls, giving South Africa a competitive score despite their earlier collapse. The innings was a tale of two halves, with Dercksen’s brilliance turning the tide for the visitors.

South Africa XI: Tazmin Brits, Laura Wolvaardt (capt), Lara Goodall, Miane Smit, Nondumiso Shangase, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Chloe Tryon, Annerie Dercksen, Nadine de Klerk, Seshnie Naidu, Ayabonga Khaka
Sri Lanka XI: Chamari Athapaththu (capt), Hasini Perera, Vishmi Gunaratne, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Manudi Nanayakkar, Nilakshi de Silva, Anushka Sanjeewani (wk), Dewmini Vihanga, Malki Madara, Sugandika Kumari, Inoshi Fernando

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Sourced:Supersport

Picture: ICC