The Girls in Blue confident and motivated ahead of season opener against Badgers Women

World Sports Betting Western Province Women captain Leah Jones says the team is excited and well prepared as they gear up for their 2025/26 Hollywoodbets Pro Series season opener against the Garden Route Badgers Women this weekend.

The Girls in Blue will make the trip to Oudtshoorn for a showdown weekend at the Recreation Ground, where they will face the Badgers Women in their opening fixture of the season.

The two sides will lock horns this weekend, facing off in the Hollywoodbets Pro50 on Saturday followed by the Hollywoodbets T20 on Sunday.

Play on both days will start at 10am, with the matches streamed live on Cricket South Africa’s (CSA) official YouTube channel.

Jones says the players are eager to get off to a strong start, with their sights set on winning both games.

“I think we had a nice analysis session on Monday. So, the girls know what to look forward to and we obviously want to win both games and want to get off to a good start,” said Jones.

“Everyone is excited, like I said, everyone wants to get going. We've been waiting for a really long time. It felt like the 11th of October was never coming - but really excited to get going.”

As the defending T20 champions, Claire Terblanche’s charges are aiming to dominate this season and challenge for both trophies, with Jones confident that the team is mentally prepared for the challenges ahead.

“I think mentally the girls are really strong and that’s positive heading to our first game of the season,” said Jones.

“This season, our aim is to challenge strongly for both trophies; it's something we have set as a clear goal for the team. Last season, we came very close and although we fell just short, it gave us the motivation to push harder this time around.

“We want to go all the way and lift both trophies, but first, our focus is on starting the season on a positive note with this weekend’s away fixtures. It’s important for us to hit the ground running and build momentum from the very first game.”

Assistant coach Vuyani Parafini will take charge of the team in the absence of head coach Terblanche, who remains on national team duty at the Cricket World Cup.

Jones added that her side is expecting a refreshed Badgers Women's team but emphasised that they remain focused and confident ahead of the clash.

“Badgers are a brand-new team, so we'll have to see what we get when we get there,” she adds.

“Obviously we played against a couple of them - because most of them have played for different teams. But we are confident heading into the match focusing on us and what we’ve worked on during the pre-season.”