Australia’s women’s team faces South Africa for the first time in Test cricket history from 2pm AEDT in a landmark return to the WACA.
The beloved Perth venue has not hosted a men’s Test since the 2017/18 Ashes, while it is a first women’s Test at the iconic ground since 2014, when Ellyse Perry claimed eight wickets and topscored in both innings in a 61-run loss to England.
Perry needs 78 more runs to pass the great Karen Rolton and become Australia’s leading Test run-scorer.
The WACA also hosted Tests in 1958 and 1984, both matches being drawn. Australia is not just hoping for a first Test win at the WACA, but a first win on home soil since January 2011, when they beat England by 7 wickets at Bankstown Oval.
Alyssa Healy won the toss for a seventh time in a row and chose to bowl.
South Africa are relative newcomers to the Test arena, having played just three Tests in the last two decades, most recently a rain-struck draw with England in 2022. Just six of their squad have Test caps, compared to all 14 of the Australian unit.
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Australia has played two Tests over the past eight months, an 89-run victory over England at Trent Bridge and an eight-wicket loss to India at Wankehde Stadium.
The one-off Test will wrap up Australia’s multi-format series against the Proteas, which the hosts currently lead 8-4 after winning four of the six white-ball contests. However, South Africa will draw the series if they win the historic Test, which is worth four points.
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The Bureau of Meteorology has predicted another heatwave to hit Perth, which could wreak havoc on the match.
Thursday is forecast to reach 43C, while the final day of the four-day match on Sunday could reach 42C.
Perth has already seen an equal-record four days of 40 degrees or more this February.
“They’ve put a lot of water into (the pitch), I watched them water it for the hour that I was keeping yesterday,” Australia’s Alyssa Healy said yesterday.
“But it seems like from all reports, it’s going to be a traditional WACA wicket where it could be a little bit tricky early on, but flatten out by the end of it and be a beautiful batting wicket.
“Whatever we do first tomorrow, we’re going to have to work hard, make sure we’re on point, but hopefully, find ourselves on top of the battle.”
The Perth Test between Australia and South Africa gets underway at the WACA on Thursday, with the first ball scheduled for 2pm AEDT. 100 overs are scheduled for each day, 10 more than a men’s Test given the match lasts four days instead of five.
Session times: First session: 2pm-4pm AEDT |Second session: 4.40pm-6.40pm| Third session: 7pm-9pm.
TEAM NEWS
Marizanne Kapp, who scored 150 runs in her first Test match and has starred for South Africa throughout this multi-format series, was ruled out on game day due to illness.
South Africa captain Laura Woolvaardt said: “Unfortunately, Kappy is not feeling very well… very big loss for us.”
For Australia, Sophie Molineux returns for the first time since 2021.
Australia XI: Beth Mooney, Phoebe Litchfield, Ellyse Perry, Tahlia McGrath, Alyssa Healy (c, wk), Annabel Sutherland, Ashleigh Gardner, Sophie Molineux, Kim Garth, Alana King, Darcie Brown
South Africa XI: Laura Wolvaardt (c), Anneke Bosch, Sune Luus, Tazmin Brits, Delmari Tucker, Chloe Tryon, Nadine de Klerk, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Nonkululeko Mlaba, Ayanda Hlubi
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Source Agencies
