And she senses a steely determination in the squad ahead of some massive challenges both at home and abroad.

“We’ve got a cheeky little trip to Bangladesh after WPL, and that’s huge leading into a T20 World Cup over there at the back-end of this year,” Healy said.

“Two World Cups in the space of 18 months is huge for our squad.

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“And then you throw in an Ashes series in between – it’s a busy time for our group, but I’ve never seen this group more hungry to play cricket, and more excited to challenge themselves, which is huge.”

South Africa were always going to be up against it in the first women’s Test match between the two nations after losing star allrounder Marizanne Kapp to illness before the match.

The Proteas rocked up on day three in all sorts of trouble at 3-67 in their second dig, but Brits was the only wicket to fall during the morning session.

Tryon was dropped twice on the way to her half-century.

Spinner Ashleigh Gardner (2-29) took a diving catch off her own bowling to end Tucker’s defiant stand, and two overs later she had Nadine de Klerk caught for a duck.

The impressive Darcie Brown (2-47) made the most of the new ball by bowling Sinalo Jafta (nine), and it was Annabel Sutherland who got the key breakthrough when she bowled Tryon.

It continued a standout match from 22-year-old Sutherland, who posted the fourth-highest score in women’s Test cricket on Friday when she blasted 210 off 256 deliveries, earning her player-of-the-match honours.

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South African skipper Laura Wolvaardt said the Test match was an enjoyable experience, despite her team being crushed.

It was only South Africa’s second Test match in the past decade.

“This red-ball game, we were pretty much outplayed in all facets of the game,” Wolvaardt said.

“Just being able to play was really special, at this iconic venue as well.

“Hopefully we’ll play more in the future.”

AAP