Welcome to the T20 World Cup, South Africa.
Where was this team in their opener against Australia four days ago? Or at least where were bits of this team?
Granted, the quality of the opposition they faced in match two - Pakistan - is significantly different to the one they played in the opener, and the conditions are different too, but those questions will still be asked. Where were the bowlers, and more importantly, the plans that reduced Pakistan to 29 for 5 in the Powerplay, and then 50 for 8 in the 11th? And where was the Annerie Dercksen that scored 52 off 35 balls batting at No.3? No need to wonder where the brain-fade batting was. That survived from Old Trafford, as South Africa put on a relatively wretched display chasing a modest total and have plenty to think about before their crunch clash against India.
First, however, here's what went right. Marizanne Kapp opened the bowling with the venom of old and the poison was not even slow. Kapp asked for a review off her first ball, a delivery that seamed back into Muneeba Ali and which replays showed was going on to hit the top of leg stump. She finished the over by cleaning up Gull Feroza with a beauty that snuck through the bat-pad gap and made a mess of middle stump. When Kapp trapped Ayesha Zafar lbw in her second over and Pakistan were 14 for 3, it looked like South Africa's bid to overturn their massive net run-rate deficit (-3.250 at the start of the game) was going according to plan.
At that point, Laura Wolvaardt made one of her better captaincy decisions by bringing on Ayabonga Khaka in place of Shabnim Ismail, whose first over had gone for just five runs but who was already starting to err on the side of too short. Khaka offers more control, bowled fuller and with Natalia Pervaiz not using her feet very well, bowled her off an under-edge. South Africa built up so much pressure that a run-out followed and, with Pakistan 29 for 5 in the Powerplay, records were in danger.
Pakistan's lowest score in a T20I is 56 and South Africa should have dismissed them for around that. They were 50 for 8 in the 11th over and their running between the wickets was catastrophic.
Ismail bowled the 10th over, her third, and had Aliya Riaz caught off a short ball to claim her first wicket of the match. She should have bowled the 12th, if Wolvaardt had been going for the kill, but instead it was given to Chloe Tryon. Though she only conceded six runs, that allowed Pakistan to settle a touch. Ismail came back for the 14th, sniffing blood, but veered on the side of too short again. Before South Africa knew it, Fatima Sana was striking at more than a run a ball and her partnership with Tuba Hassan, at 24, was already their biggest of the match. It went on to total 71 after Nadine de Klerk, in particular lost her lines. However, the point that needs making is how Ismail is being used.
It is worth remembering that, before this event, Wolvaardt had never captained Ismail and so understanding the rhythms of how she operates best is something Wolvaardt is learning on the job. It's also worth noting that Ismail does not appear to have changed at all. She still likes to bowl fast, and short - the typical South African way - but she may need to adjust that to make the biggest impact here. A third point is on South Africa's death bowling. Khaka is a tried-and-trusted but de Klerk remains hot and cold. Wolvaardt will have to figure out how to manage her bowlers better as the tournament goes on.
She was not helped by the fact that Dercksen didn't, and it seems couldn't, bowl as she managed a hamstring tweak. However, Wolvaardt will be pleased Dercksen was able to bat, and then bat as well as she did.
Dercksen was a dubious choice at No.3 in the Australia match, but has been identified as the future - and it seems the present - for the role, and has embraced it accordingly. "It's quite nice," Dercksen said at the post-match presser. "I've been doing it for a while in ODI cricket so it hasn't been too foreign to me. It's quite nice to face the ball when you're in the Powerplay and only have two fielders out and a hard new ball. Obviously there's gonna be games like last one where it doesn't pay off, but I am fortunate that it came out on the right side today."
She credited Wolvaardt and Kapp with coaching her through the tough periods, even though neither were around for very long and Wolvaardt's own tournament has stuttered. Teams appear to have worked out how to starve her of the strike and deny South Africa a strong start. Against Australia, she faced only seven balls in the first five overs and 12 in the Powerplay. Against Pakistan, she faced 11 deliveries in the Powerplay and was out shortly afterwards.
Dercksen relieved the pressure with a takedown of offspinner Rameen Shamim, whose opening over she took for 21 runs including a massive six over cow corner, and confirmed her game against spin is a work in progress. "We've been fortunate enough to play a lot of teams in the subcontinent recently, and we also had Pakistan tour South Africa, so maybe, without realising it, I got to work on my game against spin. And it was something I made a conscious effort about as well."
With only Sana to bowl pace, South Africa faced a slew of spin and Dercksen had to be able to create scoring shots. Her footwork against Nashra Sandhu was outstanding and it was against the Pakistan left-arm spinner that Dercksen brought up her fifty, off 32 balls.
South Africa did the right thing by elevating Kapp to No.4 and holding de Klerk (who scored 37 off 28) back for No.5. They may still want to consider bringing Tazmin Brits back into the XI, especially as Sune Luus is misfiring at the top and Kayla Reyneke, with scores of 0 and 2, is struggling at No.7. Their tail is still too long, with Sinalo Jafta coming in at No.8 and their Nos. 9 to 11 - typically Ismail, Khaka and Nonkululekho Mlaba - do not offer much with the bat. These are all things they need to fix in the next three days because, even though they have points on the board, the biggest test is yet to come.
They will play India, who have romped to two big wins, in Manchester on Sunday and the outcome of that match could provide decisive in who progresses to the semi-final. And Dercksen, for one, hopes it is nowhere near as nervy.
"I said to the team I'm probably going to die 30 years before I should, because we have a knack of doing this, but the main thing is that we ended up on the right side," she said. "We've done it a couple of times in World Cups now. Credit to the team, credit to the people coming in and pulling that game through for us, because I think at one stage the odds were probably stacked against us a little. I'm just really proud of the fact that we were able to pull that through."
And so South Africa might say, their World Cup begins now. Hopefully not too late.