Story audio is generated using AI
Sporting a bruised right arm and feeling “very emotional”, Tazmin Brits was on the point of tears after Chloe Tryon struck the winning runs against India on Sunday.It’s not been an easy year for Brits, who before her starring role in the victory in Manchester had scored 199 runs in 12 T20 innings for South Africa in 2026, which included only one half-century. In warm-up matches before the T20 World Cup, Brits scored 13, 7 and 3, and her absence from the starting team for the first two matches was unsurprising. But with South Africa having struggled against Australia and Pakistan, she was thrown a lifeline for the Proteas’ most important group match and, despite still looking out of touch, showed the wherewithal and courage to form a crucial partnership with Marizanne Kapp. Their 97-run third-wicket stand, after South Africa had stumbled to 25/2 in the power play, set the foundation for a stellar run chase on a tricky, dry surface. For Brits, who made 40, her second-highest score this year, it was a contribution she and the team will hope signals a return to form. The Netherlands, whom South Africa face in Bristol at 7.30pm on Thursday, have the weakest attack in Group A, offering Brits the opportunity to build on the confidence she would have gained at Old Trafford. She was scratchy to start with against India, looking like someone devoid of confidence. She scored five singles off the first 11 balls she faced, creating the pressure which led to the loss of two wickets at the end of the power play, including that of Laura Wolvaardt, who was trying to force the pace. But the clear communication with Kapp, in which the great all-rounder stressed the importance of building their partnership, seemed to calm Brits. She also simplified her approach, and with the exception of a reverse sweep off Deepti Sharma, which brought up her first boundary off the 15th delivery of her innings, Brits backed her strengths by hitting the ball down the ground. The fancy flicks and sweeps she left to Kapp to execute. Brits looks ungainly playing those shots, and her strengths as a batter are her power, particularly when she is looking to hit the ball straight. Her other two boundaries against India both came with shots over the bowler’s head, as did many of the singles she scored. In a batting unit which is still struggling to find its best form, getting Brits confident is crucial. South Africa came into the tournament with their opening pair, Wolvaardt and Suné Luus, looking in excellent touch but the rest, although good on paper, having spent little time at the crease. It was Luus who was moved into the opening position after the selectors lost faith in Brits, who had looked out of sync throughout the South African season and then on the tour to New Zealand and the series against India. It forced a change in the batting line-up for the World Cup, with Annerie Dercksen moving into the No 3 spot that Brits had occupied for most of the year. Given how well Luus had batted in South Africa against India, and despite two poor knocks against Australia and Pakistan, keeping her in the starting team would certainly have been understandable. “It [was] a brave move by the coaching staff, and it worked,” Kapp said about the decision to recall Brits and include Dane van Niekerk for the India match.Like Brits, the former Proteas captain had also struggled for form leading up to the tournament. Now the 35-year-old Brits, who has played 81 T20s for the Proteas, has given Mandla Mashimbyi every reason to back her for the last two group matches.
