By BBC (Sports) | Created at 2024-12-15 18:05:33 | Updated at 2024-12-15 21:01:15
3 hours ago
When Maia Bouchier dropped her third catch against West Indies during England's shock elimination from the Women's T20 World Cup, the camera picked up an expression of both heartbreak and complete disbelief on her face.
On that day, England were shell-shocked as they went from being one of the pre-tournament favourites to having their entire team dynamic scrutinised.
But fast forward exactly two months and things could not be more different for Bouchier.
Heartbreak was replaced by a beaming grin and a youthful giddiness as she kissed the England badge on her helmet, an uncontrollable release of emotion in an embrace with batting partner Nat Sciver-Brunt upon reaching three figures on her Test debut.
If her maiden century in all formats against New Zealand in July was the coming-of-age knock, this was the redemption arc.
The 26-year-old is a regular in England's white-ball sides at the top of the order but given the infrequency of women's Tests, in Bloemfontein she was learning on the job.
But crucially, she was guided by three of England's most established players, firstly sharing a 53-run stand with Tammy Beaumont to overcome South Africa's new-ball threat and then visibly growing in confidence during another fifty stand with captain Heather Knight.
With Sciver-Brunt, though, who scored the fastest women's Test century during their stand of 174, Bouchier was faultless as the pair batted with a one-day strike rate for almost 30 overs while barely breaking a sweat.
South Africa had no answers, as they kept bravely pitching the ball up in search of wickets but that simply fed into Bouchier's strength, with 52% of her runs scored straight down the ground.
Bouchier's introduction to international cricket was a frustrating one, a young player packed full of potential who struggled to find a permanent space, often with a tendency to suffer skittish lapses in concentration just when things were starting to click.
So while the glorious timing of the straight drives and the fast hands that whipped the ball through the leg side were a delight to watch, equally pleasing was the way she took on the responsibility of opening, winning the mental battle and as a result likely cementing herself at the top of the order in all three formats for the upcoming Ashes.
An in-form opener is one box England have ticked so far, but an in-form Sciver-Brunt is a different beast altogether.
From the moment she nonchalantly caressed her first ball past mid-on for four (with a bit of help from South Africa's sloppy fielding, it must be said), the century just felt inevitable.
Sciver-Brunt manages to bat with confidence and swagger without ever straying into arrogance. She has an almost-guilty smile at her own brilliance sometimes, when congratulated by her batting partner or as a desperate bowler looks to the sky in search of answers.
She scored 76% of her runs on the leg side which does indicate South Africa's poor plans to her, but it was the pace of her innings which took all of the pressure off Bouchier. They both cruised through their respective stints in the 90s with little jeopardy.
England were in such a strong position by the end of the day, a late flurry of wickets was not particularly catastrophic, but there is some concern building around Knight's form given the skipper has not scored a half-century for England since March.
She was visibly annoyed at being given out lbw for 20 in Bloemfontein, even though it looked straight, and vented her frustration in a way she rarely does.
After a decent World Cup campaign, which was ended prematurely because of a calf injury, Knight had a good Women's Big Bash League campaign. Indeed, she showed her value to England in captaincy by simply not being there during that West Indies defeat as chaos reigned without her.
However, she managed a top score of 40 in six white-ball innings against South Africa before this Test with three single-figure scores.
Her solidity in the middle order has been such a valuable asset over the past few years, alleviating the pressure on the likes of Sciver-Brunt, Beaumont and Danni Wyatt-Hodge.
England have brushed off the Ashes throughout the past year by saying they are simply focusing on the next game or series, but despite a generally positive tour of South Africa, they can no longer ignore the few question marks that are hovering ahead of the biggest challenge of all.
