Proteas Women's all-rounder Suné Luus praised captain Laura Wolvaardt after the two helped South Africa secure a comfortable 105-run victory over Ireland in the first of three T20 Internationals.

Luus opened the batting with Faye Tunnicliffe, but Tunnicliffe did not stay long at the crease before Wolvaardt joined Luus and they built a 176-run second-wicket partnership.

Luus explained that the partnership was not planned, but the players had a clear idea of how they wanted to approach the innings. She said the pitch played well, although it was slightly slow at times, but overall, the ball came on nicely.

She added that during the first 12 overs, it was mainly Wolvaardt leading the batting, while she tried to support her and take advantage of scoring opportunities. Luus pointed out that Wolvaardt is a world-class player and that her recent form in the Big Bash League made her performance in this match not surprising.

Wolvaardt played one of the most explosive innings in T20 international history, scoring 115 runs from 56 balls. Her century, which came from 52 deliveries, became the fastest for South Africa and helped the team reach their highest-ever T20 total of 220/2.

Luus described Wolvaardt as a phenomenal player who is clearly putting in the hard work. She said playing at Newlands in front of family made the achievement even more special and added that Wolvaardt’s ability to score back-to-back centuries was no surprise. She also said there were still more games to come in the series and that it was exciting to think about what more Wolvaardt could achieve.