The moment that South African cricket fans have been waiting for is almost here, as the Proteas are wrapping up their final preparations for their ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup opener against England on Friday.
South Africa will play their final World Cup warm-up match against Pakistan today, before their crunch opening game against second-ranked England at the Barsapara Stadium in India.
The global cricket showpiece is set to be played in India and Sri Lanka. Despite clinching the three-match ODI series against the Pakistanis last week, the Proteas lost by six wickets in their dead-rubber match – a result that coach Mandla Mashimbyi said should be a “wake-up call” for his team ahead of the upcoming World Cup.
“I think, from a beneficial point of view, I thought it was what we needed. We obviously started well in the series, winning the two games, and I think we just got a wake-up call in the last game,” Mashimbyi said after the game last Monday.
“It’s just to understand that we cannot take anything for granted, maybe we did a little bit there, and we were wiped out in 25 overs, and it’s not something that, as a coach, I must be proud of.
“I just feel we can take more pride in our performances, more than what we’ve seen today [last Monday]. I just feel like we didn’t switch on when we needed to, but it’s something we’ve worked on.
“We just must make sure they are brave enough to take on whatever is in front of them or presented to them, and
whatever conditions we find. Because we believe we’ve prepared for everything that might come our way.”
Mashimbyi will be relying on his experienced and big guns, Tazmin Brits, Marizanne Kapp, Chloe Tryon, Ayabonga Khaka, and captain Laura Wolvaardt to help steady the ship ahead of the big one on Friday.
The first ball is scheduled to be bowled at 11:30am (SA time).
