• Proteas Women ‘need to fight’

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    Having been on the wrong end of two world-record batting innings, the Proteas Women will be fighting for their pride when they meet England in the triangular series on Saturday afternoon.

    The South Africans were beaten by 66 and 121 runs in their first double-header T20I fixtures on Wednesday, as New Zealand set the highest team total in women’s international T20s at 216-1; a total promptly broken by England in the second match, when they blasted 250-3.

    Mignon du Preez, a former captain, believes that they can turn their fortunes around. ‘Obviously it wasn’t the best day at the office but it’s not how we start, it’s [that] we finish that really matters,’ she said.

    The Proteas know they have to get into a winning frame of mind, with the ICC Women’s World T20 in the Caribbean looming in November.

    Du Preez says the team needs more aggression.

    ‘The other teams played really attacking cricket and that’s how we’ve said we want to play but haven’t done it.

    ‘It’s been an eye-opener,’ she said. ‘We’ve seen that the game has moved forward at a rapid pace and we need to decide whether we want to catch up and play the same brand of cricket or if we are happy to get left behind.

    ‘We’ve got all the skills in the world; it’s just about making sure that we get the best out of each player on the day and that our execution is better than what it was on Wednesday.’

    South Africa fell short in every disciplines of the game, fielding in particular was poor against an onslaught by New Zealand’s Suzie Bates (124*) and England’s Tammy Beaumont (116), who both returning with maiden centuries on the day.

    ‘We need to get that belief back, that thing that says we know we are going to be able to do this,’ Du Preez said. ‘That’s something that I’ve seen from a lot of the teams that we have come up against. They back themselves 100% and without fear of failure and that’s what we’ve got to do.’

    Saturday will be England’s double-header day where they will face South Africa first, followed by their first encounter against New Zealand.

    Photo: Frikkie Kapp/Gallo Images

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    Mark Salter