Proteas Women keep T20 World Cup momentum despite defeat

Captain Laura Wolvaardt admitted South Africa let themselves down in multiple areas yesterday after Pakistan hit back to earn a consolation victory in the third and final women’s T20 International match in Benoni, reportsThe Citizen. “It’s a bit of a disappointing way to end the series. I think we’ve been playing some very good cricket and we just lost our way with the bat a bit today,” Wolvaardt said after the game.

“I think we bowled pretty well but I think our fielding let us down again. It was something we wanted to be a lot better at today and I don’t know if we quite did that, she said. The Proteas held an unassailable 2-0 series lead heading into the game, but they wereoutplayedby the touristsin the dead rubber clash at Willowmoore Park.

After being sent in to bat, the tourists racked up 144/7, and theSA sidewere bowled out for just 91 runs as they were handed a 53-run defeat. However, batting coach Baakier Abrahams said they had taken a knock with experienced all-rounder Marizanne Kapp being unavailable in their chase. Kapp did well to give away just 11 runs from three overs with the ball, but she left the field due to illness and was unable to bat.

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“In conditions like this on a used wicket, that type of player and experience sort of solidifies that middle period for us,” Abrahams said. “So to lose that did create an opportunity for someone else to step up in a different position, but Kappie is world class and it’s a difficult hole to fill,” he added. Despite losing the final match of the series, Abrahams felt the Proteas were on track in the build-up to theWomen’s T20 World Cupto be played in England and Wales in June and July.

The national team had two more T20 series to play before the global showpiece (against New Zealand away and India at home) and Abrahams was satisfied with the progress they were making in preparation for the showpiece. “There’s still a lot of work to be done in terms of upskilling looking ahead,” he said.

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