Marizanne Kapp: Test century is "one of the highlights of my cricket career"

NICK FRIEND AT TAUNTON: The South African allrounder made the highest score by a No.6 in women's Tests

Marizanne Kapp admitted that her fightback century on the first day of her second Test appearance would go down as "one of the highlights" of her career.

The talismanic allrounder came to the crease when South Africa were 45 for 4 before lunch, having been inserted by Heather Knight in the tourists' first Test for eight years.

But over the next 70 overs, Kapp – playing just her second match in the format – stroked 26 boundaries en route to a remarkable 150 that left her side in a far better position than six hours earlier.

"Usually, I aim for fifties – especially in the formats we play," she said at the close. "But to come out today and score that 150, it's pretty special for me.

"The type of batter that I am, I'm usually a bit slower than the rest and I take my time. I've been working really hard on my white-ball game, and when I played that warmup game a few days ago, I was like: 'I shouldn't be playing Test matches' because I was playing a T20.

"Luckily today, it came off for me and my team. If you take it ball by ball and forget about the colour of the ball, it really helps you a lot.

"I've just been absolutely blessed. Jesus Christ has been so good to me – I still don't know why. It just comes down to confidence."

^{Kapp made the highest score in women's Test cricket by a No.6 (Ryan Liscott/Getty Images)}

She admitted to feeling "a bit nervous" ahead of play, having lost by an innings on her Test debut in India back in 2014. "The first Test match was an absolute nightmare," she laughed.

"You just have to focus a bit longer – it's still cricket. Yes, it is challenging, I'm not going to lie. But if you take it ball by ball, session by session, it makes it a bit easier."

Kapp scored 91 of her runs following the fall of the sixth wicket, dominating stands with Nadine de Klerk, Sinalo Jafta and Tumi Sekhukhune. In the same timeframe, the trio added just 22 runs between them but crucially kept her company.

"If I focus on the other batter, it seems to take the pressure off me," said Kapp, explaining how she had marshalled the tail so effectively.

"That's certainly what happened throughout the World Cup as well. I feel like when I give advice, I forget the situation we are in and it helps me focus a bit more. I was just telling them to stay in for as long as possible. I knew that the older the ball got, I could take on the England bowlers a lot more."

On the future of women's Test cricket, she added: "I definitely feel like if we want to grow women's cricket even more, it's definitely needed. It's out there that you can try things and learn so much about yourself. I would definitely like to see women's cricket play a lot more Tests because it will be good for the game."

Related Topics

• Marizanne Kapp fights back for South Africa after England's fast start