Indestructible Kapp plays through the pain in historic win

Marizanne Kapp revealed she had to be talked into playing in South Africa's history-making one-day international win over Australia on Wednesday.

The superstar allrounder produced one of the great all-round performances at North Sydney Oval, top-scoring with 75 before taking 3-12 to rip through Australia's top order, paving the way to an 84-run win.

But Kapp was under an injury cloud coming into the match, having retired hurt in Saturday's first one-dayer after being struck on her left elbow by a throw.

"Coming here this morning, I felt 100 per cent … until I started hitting some balls, I felt a bit of pain in my arm," Kapp told reporters after the game.

"But then after speaking to our physio and doctor, they assured me that pain meds would kick in.

"Luckily they convinced me to play today and everything worked out."

Despite her discomfort, Kapp anchored South Africa's innings with an 87-ball 75.

She then backed up her efforts with the ball, dismissed Alyssa Healy, Beth Mooney and Phoebe Litchfield to leave Australia 3-34.

Kapp only bowled one additional over following her initial four-over burst and had commentators questioning her fitness when she was not thrown the ball during a 77-run ninth-wicket stand that frustrated the Proteas' push for an historic win.

But the allrounder suggested it was more a matter of management and trust her teammates would get the required wickets.

"I nearly batted two hours and I'm 34 years old, it's starting to get tough," Kapp explained.

"(In) my younger days, you wouldn't have been able to take the bowl out of my hand.

"It's a long series and I know the next match is going to be important, so there's just a bit of management."

Kapp has taken her batting game to new levels over the past couple of years and is currently the world's eighth-ranked ODI batter.

She has also hit three fifties in as many innings in this series.

But the fiery quick said she had felt below her best with the ball in recent times, and had headed into the game having taken two wickets from the first four games of the multi-format series.

It was a trend that was also evident in the last WBBL season when Kapp, who is seventh on the all-time WBBL wickets table, captured just 10 for the season at 37.4 for the Sydney Thunder.

"It's just good to take some wickets again," she said.

"We've been playing pretty low and slow wickets the last couple of months so it's been good to have a bowl on a wicket that had a bit of something in it.

"Last year, I was really not happy with my bowling.

"I've been working a bit on it and then I have these small unnecessary injuries that keeps me out of bowling as well.

"I still don't feel like I have my rhythm 100 per cent, but tonight felt a little bit better, so hopefully it's coming back."

With the ODI series level 1-1 and with South Africa now trailing by two points in the multi-format series, Kapp wants her team to capitalise in Saturday's final one-dayer.

If the Proteas can secure a second ODI win, they can level the series at six points apiece going into next week's one-off Test.

"We've had England in this situation in the past, in the T20 series we had Australia there and we just let it slip the last game," she said.

"I'm hoping we can come back next game, show the same fight that we showed today and hopefully we are the ones winning."

Women's CommBank T20I Series v South Africa

First T20: Australia won by eight wickets

Second T20: South Africa won by six wickets

Third T20: Australia win by five wickets

Women's CommBank ODI Series v South Africa

First ODI: Australia won by eight wickets

February 7: South Africa won by 84 runs

February 10: Third ODI, North Sydney Oval, 2.40pm

Australia squad: Alyssa Healy (c), Darcie Brown, Heather Graham, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris*, Jess Jonassen, Alana King**, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham *T20s only | **ODIs only

South Africa squad (T20Is & ODIs): Laura Wolvaardt (c), Anneke Bosch, Tazmin Brits, Nadine de Klerk, Mieke de Ridder (wk), Ayanda Hlubi, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka, Masabata Klaas, Suné Luus, Eliz-Mari Marx, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Chloe Tryon, Delmi Tucker

Women's CommBank Test Match v South Africa

February 15-18: Only Test, WACA Ground, Perth 11.00am