Proteas not bothered by training defeat against Australia

Nadine de Klerk said the Proteas were not fazed by their 85-run defeat in the last of three training matches against Australia on Thursday.

The Australians scored 212/6 with Ash Gardner and Georgia Wareham making half-centuries while Ayabonga Khaka picked up 3/27 in three overs. South Africa responded with 127/6, with captain Laura Wolvaardt scoring 47 off 39 balls.

“We were trying a few things, especially with the death bowling,” said de Klerk. “We wanted to try some scenarios, see what might work with certain situations.”

With the bat De Klerk, who made 13 off 16 balls, said she was less interested in blasting sixes and rather wanted time at the crease. “It was a catch-22. The middle order hasn’t spent a lot of time in the middle, so we wanted time at the crease. Chloe (Tryon) and I were speaking about that out there and we felt it would be better to just get some rhythm.”

In recent months Wolvaardt and Sune Luus have been dominant for the Proteas, with De Klerk only facing two balls in the five match series with India. “I understand my role is not high volume, more impact and really bringing an energy and vibe.”

She doesn’t believe the training matches, which were played in Arundel produced any major psychological advantage for either side. South Africa won the first match by seven runs, while the second game was rained out. The teams will face each other in their first match at the World Cup next Saturday in Manchester.

“We all know what they are about. But we’ve changed a lot over the last few years, it’s very different to 2024, when we last played them (in a T20I). We beat them in that game (the world cup semifinal),” said De Klerk.

“(The opening match) will be a really good contest; we didn’t get run over by them, and we will hopefully take a lot of confidence into that first game.”

South Africa travel to Loughborough for the first of two official ICC warm-up matches on Saturday against Ireland and then on Tuesday against the defending champions New Zealand.

Story audio is generated using AI Spending time in the middle against quality opposition will be crucial as the Proteas Women complete their preparations for next month’s ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, says all-rounder Annerie Dercksen. SA opened their warm-up programme with a seven-run victory over Australia on Sunday and will play four more matches before the tournament gets under way on June 12. The Proteas play Australia twice more this week before taking on Ireland and New Zealand to conclude their preparations. Their opening World Cup fixture sees them take on the Aussies on June 13 before clashes against Pakistan, India, Netherlands and Bangladesh to conclude their group phase assignments Dercksen said most of the hard work had already been done during the months leading up to the tournament, with the remaining fixtures providing an opportunity to fine-tune individual skills and ensure the squad were aligned in their approach. “Personally, I just want to work on some options and also spend time out in the middle against quality opposition,” Dercksen said. “They’ve been the number one side in the world for a while. “From a team perspective, it will be a nice test to ensure that everyone has their options narrowed down and dialled in and that we are all on the same page.” The tournament will mark Dercksen’s third Women’s T20 World Cup campaign with the Proteas. She was selected in SA’s squad for the 2023 tournament on home soil but did not feature in a match before playing a more significant role during the 2024 edition. Since then, the right-arm medium pacer has developed into one of the most influential all-rounders in the national setup. The 25-year-old enjoyed a breakthrough period over the past two seasons, establishing herself across formats and becoming a regular contributor with both bat and ball. Reflecting on her journey from wide-eyed newcomer to established international, Dercksen said the experiences gained along the way had played a major role in her development. “It was an amazing experience, and I think I am kind of glad I didn’t get to play in that tournament because everything was still pretty new to me,” she said. “Getting to be in the environment, with my heroes close by, bumping into people I had only ever seen on TV was pretty cool. “Now I think I’ve gotten to know my game a bit better, and I understand the environment a bit better, so it has been amazing, and I have been really blessed so far.” Having reached three ICC tournament finals in recent years, SA remain determined to finally secure a first major global title. “We have now managed to get over that semifinal hurdle, which is a massive achievement from a mental point of view,” Dercksen said. “Getting to three finals says something about our character and resilience in these tournaments, but we definitely would like to go one step further. “We’ve had a lot of chats and also tried to visualise the things that we would need to do to take that final step.” Follow The Herald WhatsApp channel today and stay connected to the stories shaping our world. The Herald

The tenth edition of the women’s T20 World Cup starts next Friday (June 12), with hosts England taking on Sri Lanka.

Besides Australia, the Proteas, runners-up in the last two tournaments, also face India, Pakistan, the Netherlands and Bangladesh in Group 1. The top two teams from each group qualify for the semifinals, with the winners of those, playing in the tournament final at Lord’s on July 5.

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