Despite being thumped in their opening match against Australia last week, the Proteas team are confident they can take lessons from that game and get their campaign back on track in their second fixture against Pakistan at the Women’s T20 World Cup in Birmingham on Wednesday (7.30pm start).
South Africa lost to top-ranked favourites Australia by 65 runs in their first group match, but wicketkeeper Sinalo Jafta believed that defeat could have done the national team a favour.
“You always get jittery in the first game but when you look at our team, the coach (Mandla Mashimbyi) was really firm in saying ‘you know what, it’s time for us to actually reflect’ so in the next game we know what we need to focus on. And I think with the training we’ve had, everyone kind of has their roles and nothing changes. You keep going with the game plan,” Jafta said.
“A game like that… I’m actually glad it happened because it shows you where you need to put more emphasis in the way you operate.”
Not underestimating Pakistan
While Pakistan have never progressed beyond the opening round of the biennial tournament, Jafta insisted the Proteas were not underestimating their opponents as they looked to recover in an attempt to reach their third straight final.
Jafta referred to the clash against Pakistan as the SA squad’s “most important game” of the T20 showpiece.
“The Australia game is behind us and we have another opposition, Pakistan, who are just as dangerous, and if you go in there underestimating your opposition you are going to come out second best,” she said.
“So for us it’s just about respecting them, doing what we do well, and focusing on that. The outside noise is something on the outside. We just do what we do well as a team, which is having character and unity.”
Proteas captain Laura Wolvaardt will achieve a milestone against Pakistan as she turns out in her 100th T20 International match.
