Thailand are next challenge for confident Proteas
With England seen off‚ Thailand are the next team standing in the way of the Proteas at the Women’s World Cup in Australia.
Friday’s match is critical in every respect as Thailand‚ the weakest team in the group‚ gave a good account of themselves in the seven-wicket defeat to the
West Indies. SA were not expected to beat England on Sunday‚ but they did. With that powerful team deposed‚ a playoff spanner has been thrown into the works.
With the group shaped similarly to the 2018 Women’s T20 World Cup group that SA could not get out of‚ it was important that either England or the West
Indies be beaten in order to stake a play-off claim. The England box has been ticked and it should be a similar case against Thailand at the Manuka Oval on Friday‚ but complacency must be guarded against.
Australia were victims of this mentality against a shrewd India side in the tournament’s opening game last Friday and face a fight to remain in the tournament‚ even though they beat Sri Lanka. It is as if the tournament has taken on an unpredictable nature as teams who would barely fire a shot suddenly find the confidence to pick a fight with the established teams.
Thailand were beaten by England on Wednesday morning in a double-header in Canberra that also saw Pakistan beat West Indies. Those results have given SA a clear idea of what lies in store on March 1 and 3 when they face Pakistan and the West Indies in Sydney
SA can take heart from the fact that their Perth performance against England was a complete one where the batting and bowling came together.
Percy Tau flew to Manchester with his Belgium side Club Brugge on Wednesday but whether he gets to play against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Thursday remains to be seen.
His chances will have been enhanced by Brugge’s decision to leave behind top striker Emmanuel Denis‚ who scored in the first leg of the Europa League last 16 tie in Belgium last Thursday but picked up an injury at the weekend.
Denis is not fit to play in the return match.
Tau had not featured in the starting line-up for four matches before Brugge coach Philippe Clement went for the surprise element and stuck the Bafana Bafana striker into the starting line-up last Thursday.
But Tau‚ 25‚ was taken off after failing to make an impact and was then left on the bench at the weekend as Brugge stayed top of the log in the Belgian league despite a 1-1 draw with Charleroi.
Tau is short on game time in recent weeks but his ability to conjure up something special‚ together with Denis’s absence‚ means the coach must be thinking again about starting the South African.
It would be a big stage for Tau who has already this season played at another of world football’s iconic venues — Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu.
Tau could take inspiration from Benni McCarthy‚ who in 2004 helped FC Porto eliminate the Red Devils in the Champions League knockout stage.
McCarthy scored both goals in a 2-1 win in the first leg for FC Porto at home and then set up the goal for Costinha in the return in Manchester as Porto advanced 3-2 on aggregate in a tie that put Jose Mourinho on the world football map.