Ireland's opening match in the expanded ICC Women’s Championship turned into a nightmare as they were bowled out for 69 at Castle Avenue by the powerful South Africans who completed a nine wickets win in just 16 overs.

That total marked a significant recovery from four for three after seven overs as the Proteas new ball pair of Shabnim Ismail and Ayabonga Khaka gave the batters nothing to hit and the top three, including captain Gaby Lewis, to her first attempt at an attacking shot, were all back in the pavilion.

A surprise bowling change released the pressure in the eighth over, which yielded Ireland’s first boundary but the wickets continued to fall regularly, not all of them from the bowlers' best balls.

The best batting came from Georgina Dempsey at No 9, who hit Ismail, one of the world’s leading female bowlers, for three successive fours and was left 19 not out when Cara Murray was dismissed by Khaka who finished with two for six from 5.2 overs.

The remaining games in the series are on Tuesday and Friday.