The Proteas Women have a crucial Group 1 clash against Pakistan at Edgbaston on Wednesday (7.30pm start), following a sobering 65-run defeat to Australia in their opening match of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.
A consecutive defeat after that disastrous start this past weekend, could potentially spell the end of the Proteas’ Cup hopes after just two matches. To get their campaign back on track, Independent Media’s Zaahier Adams selects five specific areas they need to fix:
Counter the spin threat
Australia’s quarter of spinners — led by Georgia Wareham’s 3/13 — completely strangled the Proteas’ chase, and Pakistan is expected to bring a very similar, spin-heavy attack. The Proteas must improve their strike rotation against the slower bowlers to prevent dot-ball pressure from baiting them into rash shots.
Get Laura Wolvaardt on strike
In the opener, Wolvaardt bizarrely faced only three deliveries in the first three overs while the batters around her struggled. As the captain and anchor (she top-scored with 44 off 39), the gameplan has to involve feeding her the strike. Australia actively tried to starve her of the ball; the non-striker must manufacture singles to ensure Wolvaardt dictates the tempo.
Tasmin Brits must be reinstated at the top of the Proteas Women batting order. Photo: IANS
Solidify the top order
You cannot win T20 matches when you’re 7/2 after two overs. Suné Luus and Annerie Dercksen fell cheaply to the new ball against Australia, which forced power-hitter Nadine de Klerk to come in at No 4 for a rescue mission rather than playing her usual finishing role.
A reshuffle at the top is required with Tazmin Brits resuming her long-standing opening partnership with Wolvaardt and Marizanne Kapp promoted to No 3 to allow Dercksen and De Klerk to drop down to their regular middle-order slots.
Contain Fatima Sana
The Pakistan captain has been a thorn in the side of the Proteas in recent series. Sana’s clean-hitting lower down the order was a feature of both the T20I and ODI series between these two sides in South Africa earlier this year. She bludgeoned both pace and spin with equal effect and poses a genuine threat to the Proteas.
Marizanne Kapp of the Proteas Women. Photo: IANS
Sharpen up in the field
While the bowlers did well in patches — especially Marizanne Kapp and the returning Shabnim Ismail making early inroads with the new ball — dropped catches by key players and sloppy ground fielding let Australia off the hook.
Chloe Tryon’s miss off Ellyse Perry on the boundary was particularly crucial to the eventual outcome, while Sune Luus also put one down in the last over. Equally, they need to tighten up their boundary-riding as a couple of balls slipped under diving fielders, while the inner ring also needs to be more alert to run-out opportunities.
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