The South Africa Women’s cricket side is eyeing a 3-0 series victory when they take on Sri Lanka in the third and final women’s T20 international at SuperSport Park on Wednesday.

After winning the second T20I against the Sri Lanka Women by a narrow two-wicket margin with just one ball spare to clinch the series, all-rounder Marizanne Kapp is now looking for a much-improved performance from the team, and in particular, from the batting unit.

‘We’ve not played our best cricket at all. I think we were a bit lucky coming out on top there, but having said that, we’re missing players like Lizelle Lee and Chloe Tryon, which leaves quite a big hole in your batting lineup,’ said Kapp during her pre-match media briefing at SuperSport Park on Tuesday.

‘It was good to see the youngsters take us over the line, but we need to do better if we want to win tomorrow. I was up there at number three, I should have ended the game there. But if we come out on top playing the way we did, I’ll take it any day.’

Kapp admitted that the team still had some distance to go before they get to where they want to see themselves in world cricket, and with the introduction of their crop of youngsters the coaches have a few more combinations to consider as they begin to plot their way towards the 2020 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.

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The powerhouse all-rounder believes that having young players with nerves of steel will serve the team in good stead in the future.

‘There’s still a lot of work to be done. We’re still trying out a few new combinations and we have a few new faces in our squad as well, so we’re working things out, and hopefully we can just get better as we go along,’ added Kapp.

‘It’s good to see such fearlessness from the younger players, to still come out on top and have them in at the end there to take us over the line. That’s a big learning curve for them and we’ll take that any day. Hopefully tomorrow’s match will be a bit more clinical.’

The team has seen a few changes since their disappointing turnout in the 2018 World T20 tournament. Kapp is pleased with the heightened sense of competition in the squad, and believes that the measures put in place by Cricket South Africa say a lot about the organisation’s commitment to supporting the national women’s team in their ambition to become world beaters.

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‘It’s a good sign for us, because it shows how serious CSA is about taking women’s cricket forward. We can’t settle for second best. We’re at that stage now where if we don’t make our fitness and if we don’t score runs or play our part, we’re gonna have to bring in youngsters, and I think that just shows where we’re at as a team and where we want to see ourselves in the months and years to come,’ concluded Kapp.

The women’s T20i will start at 1pm and will be live on SuperSport 2.

South Africa T20 series squad
Dané van Niekerk (captain, Eastern Province)
Suné Luus (Northerns)
Andrie Steyn (Western Province)
Tazmin Brits (North West)
Mignon du Preez (Northerns)
Lara Goodall (Western Province)
Shabnim Ismail (Gauteng)
Marizanne Kapp (Eastern Province)
Saarah Smith (Western Province)
Tumi Sekhukhune (North West)
Faye Tunnicliffe (wicket-keeper, Boland)
Masabata Klaas (North West)
Nadine de Klerk (Northerns)

Photo: Getty Images