The Proteas Women are preparing for their third match of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 against Scotland on Wednesday at the Dubai International Stadium. This encounter will mark the first time the two sides meet in T20 International cricket, with Scotland making their debut in this year’s global tournament in the United Arab Emirates.
The contest will be broadcast live on SuperSport Cricket from 2pm local time (12pm SAST).
South Africa go into the match with mixed results - having secured a dominant 10-wicket victory against the West Indies last Friday before suffering a tough loss to England in Sharjah last night.
Reflecting on the defeat to England, South African all-rounder Nadine de Klerk highlighted the playing conditions in Sharjah: "Obviously we've watched a couple of the games and we knew it was going to be really slow. I think it actually played a bit better yesterday than we initially thought it would. I don't think it was as slow as some of the previous games. We probably couldn't capitalise as much as we wanted but a lot of learnings, for the next couple of games.”
With Scotland up next, South Africa understands the significance of the match, particularly in light of the importance of collecting the points and the net run rate in these shorter tournaments, with the Proteas currently third in Group B behind the Windies through net run rate and two points off England who top the pool.
"The main focus would be to win the next two games. I think we're still pretty confident in our squad. And yesterday we played some good cricket for most of the 40 overs that we were on the field. The net run rate in these short competitions is always really important. Our main focus is tomorrow's game and how we go about our business. But obviously, we want to win the game first and then try and focus on the net run rate and those sorts of things," De Klerk added.
One bright spot for the Proteas in Monday’s match against England, alongside Laura Wolvaardt's batting display and Marizanne Kapp’s all-round performance, was the contribution of rising star Annerie Dercksen. Her aggressive and positive approach with the bat, scoring 20* off 11 balls (including two fours and a six), has provided a boost for the team.
"It's great. We've spoken a lot about being aggressive, being positive. And I know it might look a bit different in these conditions because it's not as easy to do that. But I think Annerie has shown that it's still possible to do it. And it's great to see her do so well and I hope she continues to grow and get better as time goes."
The Proteas' seam bowling attack has also been a strength in this tournament, with Kapp and Ayabonga Khaka leading the charge in the PowerPlay. Despite spin-friendly conditions, South Africa has stuck to their pace-heavy approach and De Klerk emphasised the tactical planning behind this.
"We are probably one of the only teams that have quite a few seam bowlers within our bowling lineup. The seamers have done well. With Marizanne and Ayabonga in the PowerPlay, they’ve been brilliant. I think a lot of teams went the other way with bowling a lot of spin, where we probably still bowl 12 or 15 overs of seam on spin-friendly conditions. But I think our seamers have done really well."
As South Africa prepares for the must-win match against Scotland, fielding is one of the key areas for improvement for the 2023 finalists, particularly after the crucial dropped catches in the game against England.
"I was so frustrated because I felt like we had England and I felt like they were really under pressure and us putting down those catches makes it hard, especially if you're only defending 125. You need to make sure that you hold on to your catches but we're human. At the end of the day, we make mistakes. We don't do it on purpose and we need to make sure that we are clinical in every single game going forward," De Klerk concluded.
Proteas Women Squad - ICC Women’s T20 World Cup
Laura Wolvaardt (Captain) (Fidelity Titans), Anneke Bosch (Fidelity Titans), Tazmin Brits (DP World Lions), Nadine de Klerk (World Sports Betting Western Province), Annerie Dercksen (Six Gun Grill Garden Route Badgers), Mieke de Ridder (Six Gun Grill Garden Route Badgers), Ayanda Hlubi (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Sinalo Jafta (DP World Lions), Marizanne Kapp (World Sports Betting Western Province), Ayabonga Khaka (DP World Lions), Suné Luus (Fidelity Titans), Nonkululeko Mlaba (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Seshnie Naidu (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Tumi Sekhukhune (DP World Lions), Chloé Tryon (DP World Lions).
Travelling Reserve
Miané Smit (Recon Tactical Free State)
South Africa’s T20 World Cup Fixtures
Wednesday @ 12pm SAST: South Africa v Scotland (Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai)
Saturday @ 4pm SAST: Bangladesh v South Africa (Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai)
Thursday, 17 October @ 4pm SAST: Semi-final 1 (Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai)
Friday, 18 October @ 4pm SAST: Semi-final 2 (Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah)
Sunday, 20 October @ 4pm SAST: Final (Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai)
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