Dane van Niekerk says that the Proteas Women tried hard to make South Africa proud, irrespective of their heartbreaking semi-final exit.
The Proteas Women lost to England by two wickets on Tuesday, but the side fought hard to take the game to the wire, despite setting an average 218-6 in their inning, which England chased down with two balls remaining.
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Van Niekerk, while disappointed with the loss, is proud of her team for reaching the semi-final and the manner in which they accomplished the feat.
‘We’re pretty gutted right now, but I’m so incredibly proud of this team,’ she said.
‘To have reached this stage and not gone through to the final is painful because I know more than anyone how hard they have worked to get here and how badly they wanted it.
‘We set ourselves a target four years ago that at this tournament we would at the very least qualify for the semis and we did that, but it would have been great to have qualified for the final on such a special day like Mandela Day and our own, Aya Khaka’s birthday.’
She continued by praising the support that the side received throughout the tournament.
‘The support from everyone back home has been so amazing and I just want to thank everyone who has reached out to us and showed their support, especially our sponsor Momentum and Cricket South Africa.
‘We wish we could have done it for them, but we can take heart in knowing that at least at the next World Cup, we have the capability and ability to go all the way to the final. We hope we made South Africa proud.’
England will meet either India or Australia in the final.
Photo: Stu Forster/Getty Images
