Proteas’ wicketkeeper, Trisha Chetty, says that the side is prepared to take on England, despite their weak record against them. 

England have beaten South Africa in 17 ODIs out of the last 18 occasions and have lost three of their last four meetings in the World Cup.

With the sides clashing at Bristol on Wednesday, the Proteas Women can draw some confidence from the fact that they beat the hosts in the most recent ODI between the two sides at the venue, the last time being in 2003 when they beat the hosts by 11 runs.

Coming off a destructive 10-wicket victory against West Indies, the Proteas fancy their chances against the No 2-ranked side.

South Africa’s middle practice session was disrupted by rainfall, forcing the team to have an indoor net session, but that did not put a dampener on the team’s spirits.

‘We can’t control the weather, so we’ll take what we can from what we have and make the best of it,’ Chetty commented.

‘Everyone’s in a good space, especially the bowlers after the last game, they are taking that confidence into the next game. Our batting was clinical as well, so we’re all just looking forward to tomorrow.’

Chetty admits that England will most likely be the toughest match they will have played so far, but she believes the team is up for the challenge and are mentally and physically ready to go.

‘When you come into a competition like this, you have to be prepared no matter what, and we’ve done that mental and physical prep and are ready.

‘I think what we’ve done well in this World Cup so far is to concentrate on ourselves and what we do well rather than the ‘who’ [we are facing] and worrying ourselves out of a game.

‘Yes, England are a good side, they have been for a long time, but we’ve played them numerous times now and we know what to expect.

‘Tomorrow, I think the key will just be to carry on playing our best kind of cricket, execute our skills well and stick to the basics. We’re up for this challenge, the girls are in a good space, everyone’s happy and I think tomorrow will be a good game to watch.’

The match will begin at 11:00 SAST, 10:00 local time.

Momentum Proteas ICC Women’s World Cup squad:
Dané van Niekerk (capt, Eastern Province), Chloe Tryon (vice-captain, KwaZulu-Natal), Trisha Chetty (wk, Gauteng), Moseline Daniels (Boland), Nadine de Klerk (Northerns), Mignon du Preez (Northerns), Shabnim Ismail (Gauteng), Ayabonga Khaka (Border), Marizanne Kapp (Eastern Province), Masabata Klaas (Free State), Lizelle Lee (North West), Sune Luus (Northerns), Raisibe Ntozakhe (Gauteng), Andrie Steyn (Western Province), Laura Wolvaardt (Western Province).

Photo: Lee Warren/Gallo Images