Talented fast bowler Ayabonga Khaka will be leading the line of attack for the South African senior women’s cricket team, which is gearing up for what is expected to be a cracking tour in India from today until July 9.
The tour is expected to give the Proteas Women a good warm-up ahead of the ICC T20 Women’s World Cup in October later this year.
The last time the Proteas’ toured India was three years ago, they showed their dominance and won the five-match one day international (ODI) series 4-1 and clinched the three-match T20 series 2-1 as top dogs.
In April this year, Khaka made history by becoming the first black African player to reach 100 appearances in the ODI format.
She became the ninth Proteas Woman to reach the milestone and just the third black African cricket player in South Africa, male and female, to achieve the feat.
Newly appointed captain Laura Wolvaardt said with the absence of the now retired Shabnim Ismail from international cricket, the team will be heavily reliant on Marizanne Kapp and Khaka’s prowess with the ball.
“I think it’s going to be a tour that tests our bowling line-up, especially if the wickets are going to be as flat as they were in the IPL,” Wolvaardt said.
“We will have to be very smart in our options, probably have a plan B and plan C. The Indian batters are batting very well now – they are very explosive. I think planning will be key around our bowling attack.”
“We do have the talent and the right people, but we just have to plan properly for each batter.”
Meanwhile, the Proteas interim coach Dillon du Preez expressed the excitement in camp and emphasized the importance of having a good tour in India, as it will play a massive role in their World Cup preparations.
“Everyone is excited and -looking forward to the tour. The preparations have been great, and we had a big focus against spin, and it was good to see the buy-in from the team,” Du Preez said ahead of the tour.
“We also have new management involved so it will be a great opportunity for the players to find their feet before we return and start our preparations for the World Cup. The key for us would be to assess the conditions as soon as possible, be calm under pressure, and try to play key moments into the game -better than the opposition.”
