The Proteas Women will be seeking a maiden victory over Australia across all formats when their T20I series begins in Canberra on Saturday.
Proteas captain Laura Wolvaardt believes her team is ready for the series, despite a T20 warm-up defeat to a Governor-General XI earlier in the week.
“Preparation has been really good so far,” said the 23-year-old. “We spent some time in Sydney, engaging in practice sessions and playing against the Governor-General XI. It’s been a really good week in Australia, and we are ready to go tomorrow.”
As a regular participant in the Women’s Big Bash League, Wolvaardt has gained knowledge of Australian venues, including Canberra’s Manuka Oval, which will benefit the Proteas.
“It’s a beautiful ground. I think it’s been quite high-scoring in the past, so I’m very excited to get out there and have a hit.
“It’s been great playing in the WBBL,” she added. “Hopefully, it bodes well. Being able to play at many of the grounds we’ll be playing at is great, and facing the bowlers that I’ll be facing for a few months at a time, hopefully, I’ll be able to use it to my advantage.”
The Proteas enter the T20I series with a record of seven defeats against Australia in the shortest format, including the Women’s T20 World Cup final in Cape Town last year.
The last time these nations faced off in T20I cricket on Australian soil, South Africa suffered a heartbreaking five-run loss via the DLS method in the 2020 World Cup semi-finals.
“It will be a big challenge,” said Wolvaardt. “They are the world champions, and it’s their own backyard, but I think we’ve prepared well, and hopefully, it goes alright.
‘They’ve just been very consistent for a long period of time. Playing in the Big Bash, I see how they work, and they work very hard at their skills, so it’s well deserved.
“They do work very hard, and they are very good cricketers, but it’ll just be about us playing our best cricket on the day. I think we’re a very talented group as well, so if we play our best cricket, it should all come together.”
Saturday’s match will start at 1:45am (SA time) and be broadcast on SuperSport Cricket (channel 212).
