Kayla Reyneke, South Africa’s 20-year-old ODI debutant all-rounder, smashed a last-ball six to clinch a thrilling ODI against New Zealand on Sunday (March 29).
Kayla Reyneke sets world record with last-ball six
After making her presence felt in the South Africa T20I side with two Player of the Match performances in her first four matches, 20-year-old Kayla Reyneke was handed an ODI debut against New Zealand in the first game of the series today (March 29).
Electing to field first after winning the toss, South Africa conceded 268, with Maddy Green (85 off 83) top-scoring for the hosts. Ayabonga Khaka put in a record shift with the ball, picking 6-56, the fourth-best bowling figures by a South African in women's ODIs, and the best by a visiting seamer in women's ODIs in New Zealand. Reyneke, who bowls off-spin, rolled her arms over for 0-17 in four overs.
South Africa's chase started poorly as they lost both openers inside six overs. Annerie Dercksen (72 off 93) and Sune Luus (53 off 72) then steadied the ship with a 123-run third-wicket stand, but South Africa collapsed to 190-6 in 37.3 overs.
Reyneke walked out at No.8 with her side needing 79 in 75 balls with four wickets in hand. A crucial 48-run partnership with Nadine de Klerk (39 off 39) took South Africa closer, but the game seemed to be slipping out of reach when they needed 22 off the last two overs with just two wickets in hand.
Reyneke took strike for the 49th over, but lost it soon enough as she took a single off the first legal delivery (the first ball was a wide). Tumi Sekhukhune dotted up for the next two balls before a fourtunate inside-edged boundary prevented the equation from going out of reach. A last-ball single by Reyneke helped her retain strike for the last over, from which South Africa needed 14. But the advantage was perplexingly squandered when she took another single off the first ball of the last over, leaving Sekhukhune to face up to the experienced Suzie Bates with the equation reading 13 off five.
Sekhukhune was able to give the strike back to Reyneke, who then smoked the third ball of the over for a six over mid-wicket, before two dot balls brought it down to six needed off the last. Bates aimed to slip it under the bat of Reyneke, but she missed her mark, and the youngster was able to clear the long-on boundary to help South Africa register a thrilling victory.
1st ODI, New Zealand Women vs South Africa Women
vs
- Ball by ball Over
Reyneke remained unbeaten on 42 off 32, earning another Player of the Match award on debut. She also became the very first debutant to win a women's ODI with a last-ball six (where data is available), etching her name in record books.
But this wasn't the first time she had pulled off heroics like this. On her T20I debut last month against Pakistan, Reyneke had been in a similar position, on strike with South Africa needing two off the last ball, and she had responded similarly, with a match-winning six that overshadowed Pakistan captain Fatima Sana's superlative knock of 90 from 41 balls.
"I was just thinking six runs. I wanted a stable base and to hit through the line," Reyneke said during the post-match presentation.
The victory brought South Africa level with New Zealand at the top of the ICC Women's Championship points table with six points each, though South Africa's net run rate of -0.340 compared to NZ's +2.958 places them at No.2.
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
