Logtenberg sets up thrilling win

South Africa 152 for 9 (Logtenberg 67) beat England 151 for 9 (Edwards 55) by one wicket
Scorecard

South Africa's teenage prodigy, Johmari Logtenberg, top-scored with a hard-hitting 67, as England's women were condemned to a thrilling one-wicket defeat off the very last ball of the first ODI in Port Elizabeth.

Logtenberg, who turns 15 next week, hit five fours and the only six of the match, as South Africa overhauled England's sub-par total of 151 at the very last gasp. The teams were neck-and-neck throughout South Africa's run-chase, and at 68 for 5 at the midpoint of the innings, the match was there for England's taking.

But Logtenberg came into her own in the latter overs, and was the only South African batsman to find an answer to England's accurate bowling. The pick of the bunch was the captain, Clare Connor, who took 4 for 25 in ten overs, and allowed only two of the South Africans to reach double figures.

Connor looked to have wrestled the match back into England's grasp when she dismissed Logtenberg and Charlize van der Westhuizen in consecutive deliveries, but at 140 for 8, there was still much for England to do. The match came right down to the wire as Connor snatched a return catch from Shandre Fritz with just five runs and four balls remaining, but the last pair of Cri-Zelda Brits and Nolubabalo Ndzundzu scrambled over the line.

England's innings had been a similarly lop-sided affair. Charlotte Edwards opened up with a well-compiled 55, but once again only two of her team-mates could reach double-figures, and none of them made more than Lydia Greenway's 18. The bowling honours were shared between Misses Fritz and Brits, who picked up three apiece.