South Africa's Nonkululeko Mlaba (centre) says the T20I series win in Pakistan has injected new belief into the squad. Picture: Marco Longari, AFP
Obakeng Meletse
PROTEAS Women’s spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba says the T20I series win in Pakistan was needed by the team and it has injected new belief into the squad as they chase their maiden T20 World Cup title in the UAE.
The Proteas take on New Zealand in the first of two warm-up matches in Dubai on Sunday (4pm SA time start), with the second set for Tuesday against India.
That is before their World Cup opener against former champions the West Indies on Friday (12 noon).
The Proteas have had to battle hard in preparation. Their series win against Pakistan gave them confidence, and the mood is positive in camp despite the challenges faced with the heat in the UAE.
The journey to T20 glory begins now! 🌍🏏
— Proteas Women (@ProteasWomenCSA) September 1, 2024
Presenting the fixtures for the Proteas Women in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup taking place in the UAE.
Get ready to support our team as they battle the best in the world! 🇿🇦💪 #AlwaysRising #WozaNawe #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/reECEpviLD
Looking ahead to the tournament, Mlaba, who is set to compete in her third T20 World Cup, takes a lot of confidence from the achievements and progress of the last two campaigns, where they progressed from the semi-finals to the final.
She believes the team has taken valuable lessons that they can apply when the tournament starts.
“We have the experience and we know what to do and where we went wrong. Everyone is on the same page, and we understand what we must do right; we are in it to win it,” she told Independent Newspapers.
“I felt like we needed to have that (Pakistan) series, because I can see with everyone that the energies are high. We won a series and we want to keep on winning. We took a lot of lessons, and even the weather conditions were the same, even though the heat is worse here (UAE), but we can adjust.”
The Proteas will face the Windies, England, Scotland and Bangladesh in their World Cup group, and the 24-year-old Mlaba is looking forward to the warm-up clash against New Zealand to sharpen up a few areas of her game.
The heat in the UAE has also been a huge factor for the team. With two of their four fixtures to be played during the day, the left-arm spinner said the players are working hard to get used to the weather conditions, while also adjusting to the slower and lower wickets.
“It is very hot here, but we are trying to keep positive at all times. We can’t control the weather but we are trying to control what we can, especially our skills, and try to avoid the sun as much as possible.
“New Zealand is not in our pool, so I’m going to try and showcase my skills, and make sure that I focus on myself and my game and try to improve.
“The wickets we are training on haven’t spun that much, but I’ll see in the first official game because I’m not getting much turn in the training ground.
“Hopefully during the match I will get some turn, but for now my focus is on being consistent.
“My main focus will be to be alert and focused with every ball, put my body on the line and fight for the badge.”
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