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Annerie Dercksen says it’s back to basics for Proteas Women against England

Zaahier Adams|Published

Proteas all-rounder Annerie Dercksen feels that the preparatory work done at the national camp recently is of great importance for the Proteas Women series against England. Picture: Ryan Wilkisky, BackpagePix

South African Women’s all rounder Annerie Dercksen believes “it is time to move on” as the Proteas Women prepare for their much-anticipated all-format series against England.

The young right-arm fast-medium bowler was part of the South African team that reached their second successive ICC T20 Women’s World Cup final in Dubai last month.

The Proteas were favourites to lift South Africa’s first major ICC trophy, but suffered the disappointment of losing to New Zealand’s White Ferns.

Dercksen, 23, feels all of that belongs in the past now, and that the side need to focus on what lies ahead, especially against a strong England outfit looking to bounce back after missing out on the World Cup play-offs.

“It was really disappointing not getting over the line. We really wanted to win it for the country,” Dercksen said.

“It is time to move on. Yes, it will sting every time we think about it, but it is time to move on and hopefully win the next one.”

The Proteas are set to face England in three T20Is, starting on Sunday in East London, before three further ODIs and a one-off Test in Bloemfontein.

Captain Laura Wolvaardt has been vocal in the past about her team’s lack of long-format exposure as the South African women’s domestic system does not accommodate first-class cricket.

The Proteas had a break of seven years between Tests from 2007 until 2014, and have since played a Test against England in 2022 and one each against Australia and India this year.

The Proteas’ only Test victory came against the Netherlands back in 2007 since they started playing Tests back in 1960/61.

Dercksen, therefore, feels that the preparatory work done at the national camp recently undertaken in Pretoria is of great importance.

“Yeah, we’ve gone back to basics. We’ve detoxed the system. We’ve played a lot of T20 cricket for a while now. Get all our basics into place going into a multi-format series,” she said.

Equally, the heir apparent to star all-rounder Marizanne Kapp’s throne does not want the Proteas to focus too much on England’s star quality, and instead stay true to their game-plans.

“We’ve got our brand, and the way we want to play. We will keep going with that and not look too much at them,” she said.

“They are a quality side, and we love coming up against quality opposition as it brings out the best in us. We are really excited about our brand and our philosophy.”

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