The South African Women’s team head into the third T20I against the White Ferns in Wellington aware that a win will keep them alive in this five-match series.

The previous two T20I matches have not gone according to plan for the Proteas who have fallen short of their one-day international exploits, but opener Lizelle Lee feels a quick response from the team is necessary.

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The two teams will compete at the Basin Reserve over the next two days with the home side hoping to wrap up proceedings having triumphed in Mount Maunganui and Hamilton.

Proteas batswoman Lizelle Lee, who is yet to fire in this T20I series, said while there have been a few positives it is now up to the players to come back sturdily and showcase what they can do in this format.

‘Hopefully we see some really good scores from our batters and make a comeback into this T20 series and make it a really entertaining one for people to watch, and hopefully we get our girls to play the good cricket we are very much capable of,’ she said.

‘Most of us in the team know that we haven’t performed to our normal standard, but this is a perfect opportunity for us to regain that momentum we had in the ODIs.’

The Proteas are still very much in this with three more matches to go, but their form going into the third encounter has not been respectable.

The conditions are a lot different in Wellington with the wickets a lot quicker and that could lead to some of the Proteas bowlers coming to the fore and making amends for the frustrations experienced in the couple of T20s played thus far.

‘I am excited to see how the likes of Shabnim Ismail and Marizanne Kapp bowl in these conditions and you’d like to think they’ll suit them very well,’ added Lee.

‘There is almost a sense of unfinished business over the last couple of weeks and we’ve played some really good cricket, particularly upon arrival here in New Zealand. We are really hungry to get a win and I think this game tomorrow will give us a perfect opportunity to show how well we are playing and it’s important it all comes together over the next couple of days.’

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