SA WOMEN READY FOR ENGLAND CLASH
Proteas working hard for cup victory over England
SOUTH Africa have one of the best bowling attacks at the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup, but captain Dane van Niekerk knows the side cannot afford to ease off ahead of a clash with host England.
The Proteas travel to Bristol today hoping to make it three wins from as many completed games, having thrashed the West Indies by 10 wickets on Sunday.
With the world’s No 1 bowler, Marizanne Kapp, South Africa was always going to be a threat with the ball, and that showed in Leicester as the Windies side was skittled out for 48.
Van Niekerk produced remarkable figures, grabbing four wickets without conceding a run in the game, but knows that beating the hosts will be another challenge entirely.
“We know how good England are, bowling and batting wise,” she said.
“But the girls have been working really hard in the nets and it’s about applying ourselves.
“We know we are going to face some tough bowling but our team is working hard to go about winning every game.
“We know it is going to be a very tough one and don’t want to be complacent.
“The most important thing is staying on top of our game.
“We spoke about it and must not get ahead of ourselves, we know we still have to face some very tough opposition.
“We don’t want to underestimate anyone, the last thing we want to do is put our feet up after two good performances
“It’s a very long tournament, but we have come here to win a World Cup.
“The cricket in the tournament has been amazing so far, the skills have gone up ten-fold. I think there will be a lot of exciting games to come in the competition.”
After three games apiece, five teams seem to be vying for four semifinal spots, meaning that today’s game will be crucial for the hopes of both teams.
England slipped up in the opener against India, but have since responded with convincing wins over Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
South Africa should be another step up though, and captain Heather Knight is wellaware of the threat of the bowling attack her team will face.
“We’ll be expecting a bit more pace on the ball compared with Sri Lanka,” she said.
“They’ve got a few slightly quicker bowlers than we have faced in the last two games, maybe slightly less spin.
“With the bat, they’ve got some really destructive players.
“I think the way we bowled [on Sunday] was really pleasing.
“After seeing how good a pitch it was, I didn’t realise how well we had bowled and how well we defended that total.
“Getting those plans in place and executing them again is going to be key in the next game,” she said.
In South Africa, the match will be live on SuperSport 2, SuperSport6 Africa, Supersport.com and its app.
Squads:
England: Heather Knight (captain), Tamsin Beaumont, Katherine Brunt, Georgia Elwiss, Jenny Gunn, Alex Hartley, Danielle Hazell, Beth Langston, Laura Marsh, Natalie Sciver, Anya Shrubsole, Sarah Taylor, Fran Wilson, Lauren Winfield and Danielle Wyatt.
South Africa: Dane van Niekerk (captain), Trisha Chetty, Moseline Daniels, Nadine de Klerk, Mignon du Preez, Shabnim Ismail, Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka, Masabata Klaas, Lizelle Lee, Sune Luus, Raisibe Ntozakhe, Andrie Steyn, Chloe Tryon and Laura Wolvaardt.