• ‘We can qualify for play-offs’

    South Africa’s squad for the Women’s World T20 tournament is the same squad who will face the West Indies in a T20 series next month.

    Cricket South Africa announced the Proteas squad that will take part in the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 from 8 March to 3 April in India on Thursday.

    South Africa will face tough competition in Group A, which includes Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Ireland but coach, Hilton Moreeng is confident of his team’s chances to qualify out of the group stage.

    ‘From a selection point of view and from the preparation we have done in the last two years, we think we have selected the best squad for the conditions that we will be faced with,’ he said.

    ‘It’s a well-balanced squad with lots of experience and a bit of youth. We’ve given ourselves the best chance to play well and compete, as well as to qualify for the knock out phase.’

    In the previous World T20 (2014), South Africa knocked New Zealand out of the quarter-finals to qualify for the semi-finals for the first time ever. Moreeng believes that he has a side that can pull off another similar upset.

    ‘Players learn all the time and what better way to learn than from the ones who have done so before. We’ve played some of the top teams in the world of late,’ he said.

    ‘We have just finished a series against England and are busy with one against West Indies now. The exposure to top-notch players is invaluable for what we are trying to prepare for. The confidence in the team is much higher now, we all know that on the day in a T20 match anything can happen, one over can swing the game either way so the execution of our skills on the day will be key.’

    Momentum Proteas World T20 squad: Mignon du Preez (captain, Northerns), Trisha Chetty (Gauteng), Odine Kirsten (Northerns), Moseline Daniels (Boland), Marizanne Kapp (Eastern Province), Dane van Niekerk (Eastern Province), Dinesha Devnarain (KZN Coastal), Chloe Tryon (KZN Coastal), Sune Luus (Northerns), Shabnim Ismail (Gauteng), Masabatha Klaas (Free State), Ayabonga Khaka (Border), Matshipi Marcia Letsoalo (Northerns), Lizelle Lee (North West), Yolani Fourie (Gauteng).

    Women’s warm-up match schedule
    10 Mar: India v Ireland, M. Chinnaswamy, Bengaluru (3pm); Sri Lanka v Bangladesh, M. Chinnaswamy, Bengaluru (7:30pm); New Zealand v Pakistan, MA Chidambaram, Chennai (7.30pm)
    12 Mar: Bangladesh v Ireland, M. Chinnaswamy, Bengaluru (3 – 6.15pm); Sri Lanka v India, M. Chinnaswamy, Bengaluru (7pm); New Zealand v England, Guru Nanak, Chennai (3pm); Pakistan v South Africa, MA Chidambaram, Chennai (7.30pm)
    14 Mar: West Indies v Australia, Guru Nanak, Chennai (3pm); South Africa v England, MA Chidambaram, Chennai (7.30pm)

    South Africa’s ICC World T20 Group A Fixtures
    18 Mar – Australia vs South Africa (7.30pm local time), Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur
    23 Mar – South Africa vs Ireland (7.30pm), Chidambaram, Chennai
    26 Mar – South Africa vs New Zealand (7.30pm), Chinaswamy, Bengaluru
    28 Mar – South Africa vs Sri Lanka (3.30pm), Chinnaswamy, Bengaluru

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