England captain Heather Knight won the toss and elected to bowl first. The Proteas, playing the country’s first Test in eight years, struggled against the new Duke ball, which was being used for the first time in a women’s Test match. South Africa lost openers Andrey Steyn and Laura Wolvaardt in the opening hour and by the time the cup reached the crease, they were down to 45/4.
In addition to a large margin since the 2014 Test in India, the Proteas’ opening squad had nine players, including captain Sune Luus, playing their first match. Kapp and Lizelle Lee were the only survivors from that 2014 match, in which Mignon du Preez also scored a century. Kapp had an aggressive innings, but far from reckless. He took advantage when the England bowlers strayed from their lines, impacting offside with some thumping stroke play especially through the cover area.
England put up a great performance in the morning, led by Kate Cross, a fast bowler who swings the ball both ways. He took 4 for 63, while debutant Lauren Bell and the vibrant Issie Wong provided good support. Steyn miscalculated a straight ball from the cross that hit her off-stump, while Wolvaardt, who looked like she was just starting to gain footing, was bowled through the gate by Wong for 16. Lara Goodall was caught in the leg before wicket by Net Sciver, and Lizelle Lee scored a seven-ball duck, leaving the Proteas in deep trouble.
Marizanne Kapp and Sune Luus put on 44 runs for the fourth wicket before Loos was bred by the brilliance of the cross to outswinger Sciver, who took an excellent catch diving to his left at third slip.
Marizanne Kapp, 32, who took her maiden international debut at the World Cup earlier this year and already has a One Day International century to her name, then went on to add the next milestone in her illustrious career.
With a top edge over the empty slip area for four, she reached magical figure, a smile broke on her face, arms went up in the air and she hugged with batting partner Sinalo Japhtha at the time. On Twitter, Kapp’s wife, Dane van Niekerk, admitted to shedding tears.
From 4 on 45, she led his team to a respectable score. In the end, she lost her wicket by playing Tammy Beaumont over long off but by then she had done her job. His 150-run knock lasted about four and a half hours, in which he faced 213 balls and hit 26 fours. It was the highest score by a No. 6 batsman in a Women’s Test and her teammates will be grateful for her efforts – as they have been on many other occasions.