THE Proteas Women tour to Pakistan will offer an opportunity to improve their poor Twenty20 record ahead of the start of the ICC T20 World Cup due to kick-off in just over two weeks in the United Arab Emirates.
The 2023 World Cup finalists are due to take on Pakistan Women in a three match T20 series set to start on Monday at the Multan Cricket Stadium. The rest of the series will be played at the same venue with the start of the World Cup only a few days away.
South Africa will play two warm up matches thereafter, against New Zealand and India before they kick-start their campaign against the West Indies on the 4th of October at the Dubai International Stadium.
The Proteas made their first ever final in their backyard last year but succumbed to a 19-run loss at the hands of heavyweights Australia. Needing a reset from there on to build up to the upcoming World Cup, the Proteas have not enjoyed the greatest of outings in the T20 format.
Their latest 1-1 draw in the tour against India in their recent three match T20 series continued the trend that has seen an inconsistent flow of results with a lot of indifferent performances that have seen the Laura Wolvaardt-led side come out on the wrong end of the stick more times than not.
Following an impressive display in their 12-run win against a strong Indian side in the first match, South Africa got on the receiving end of a heavy 10-wickets loss with 55 balls to spare in the final match of the series after the second encounter was lost due to rain.
The loss meant that since the Final of the 2023 World Cup, South Africa has played a total of 20 matches, and five of those ended in no results, while they have only managed five wins from the 15 matches, giving them a win ratio of 33.33%.
An unwanted stat especially so close to the global showpiece and it doesn’t help that long time serving coach Hilton Moreeng also stepped down with only a few months left before the tournament kicked off after being in charge of the side for well over a decade.
All is not lost though, as the Proteas can lean on their exposure to the pressure of playing in the previous editions’ final with a large number of players that made that team still within the current team.
The opportunity to play against a spin dominated side in spinner-friendly conditions could just be a chance for interim coach Dillon du Preez and Wolvaardt to start on a clean slate and use the three upcoming matches not only to build confidence, but grasp the learnings in the series and apply them in similar conditions in the UAE.
Pakistan were the first side to play the World Cup runners up and they inflicted a 3-0 series whitewash away from home in 2023.
At this stage the Proteas are desperate for momentum.