BRISTOL – The first day of the triangular Twenty20 International series didn’t go well for South Africa in England, last week as they lost to both New Zealand and England by big margins – 66 runs and 121 runs respectively.
They did bounce back on the second day of double-headers, though, beating England by six wickets, and are gung-ho ahead of their last game, against New Zealand in Bristol on Thursday.
If South Africa win and New Zealand beat England in the final game, all the teams will be tied on points, and the finalists will be identified based on the net run rates.
“The girls are in a good space and we are looking forward to Thursday,” said Chloe Tryon, the vice-captain of the South African team.
“The mood is really good, especially after the England game. We are on a big high and the girls are very excited to play New Zealand. We are taking a lot of positives from the England game and we are looking to implement our plans from today’s practice.”
Walking into practice like 🔥🙋♀️🎵🎶⤵️ #ProteasWomen @chloetryon25 @danevn81 pic.twitter.com/YvjRidN7GN
— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) June 27, 2018
Tryon, the 24-year-old all-rounder, doesn’t think the earlier defeat against New Zealand will have too much of a bearing on how things go on Thursday.
“It’s in the past now. We can’t dwell too much on what happened. We know what happened in that game and we felt that we just needed to put that game in the past and work on our plans against them,” she said.
Also in the past, Tryon said, was South Africa’s exit in the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 semifinal, which was played in Bristol, the same venue for Thursday’s games.
“We’re hoping they will keep the grass on,” said Tryon with a laugh. “There is a bit of grass on it and our seamers are smiling a little, but we’ll see how it goes.
“Everyone is just working on what they need to. It’s about taking care of your own space and the girls are looking in great nick at the moment.”
The tri-series is significant as it offers all three teams a good chance to compete against top-quality opponents ahead of the ICC Women’s World T20 2018, to be played in the Caribbean later this year.
“They are both quality sides, two among the best teams in the world,” Tryon pointed out. “It is nice to play against them and to know what to expect at the World Cup.
“Teams are getting stronger now and you can’t underestimate any of them. We’ve got to play every game at our full potential.”