Team preview: South Africa

South Africa will start the ICC Women's World T20 2018 as one of the favourites to lift the trophy and will be buoyed by the fact that they are the best acclimatised side apart from the hosts. Having toured the Caribbean for a Twenty20 International series in September, South Africa will know the conditions well.

Their captain, Dane van Nierkerk, expressed her optimism and the added advantage that the recent drawn series gives them. "Going there was a massive advantage for us going into the World Cup, the conditions, it's a bit slower" she said. "It's not where you can come in and plant your foot forward and just throw your hands at it. It's quite difficult, you have to adapt your game" she added.

van Niekerk has spoken about how difficult it can be to score runs in the Caribbean although she is sure that her charges have prepared well for that aspect. "You have to find ways to score, you can just stand there in the middle and say it's difficult, we have to expand our game and maybe open up the vee behind us, it's something we have spoken about with the batters to go work on, the sweeps and the laps. We didn't play those often" she said.

South Africa boast match-winners in the big-hitting Lizelle Lee at the top of the order, who found form in their last two T20I matches in Tarouba, Trinidad, scoring 54 (38) and 42 (24) respectively. The 19-year old Laura Wolvaardt is likely to partner Lee at the top of order for South Africa to form a formidable opening partnership – the pair found success against the Windies early last month in a bilateral series. The right-hander's unbeaten half-century in the fourth T20I earned her the Player of the Match award and showcased her ability to be the anchor around which the others can bat.

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#WWC17 Lizelle Lee's blistering 92

08 Jul 17

The Proteas will come up against the reigning champions, the Windies, in Group A, as well as Sri Lanka, England and Bangladesh. They will fancy their chances against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, who are ranked below them on the MRF Tyres ICC Women's T20I Team Rankings and then look for one victory against either England or the Windies, who are ranked No.3 and No.4 respectively, to see them through to the semi-finals.

Strengths

South Africa have kept the core of the side that narrowly lost to the hosts England, in the semi-final of the ICC Women's World Cup in July of 2017. Eleven of the fifteen players in their current squad were involved in last year’s 50-over campaign in England. In Marizanne Kapp, South Africa have the one of the most experienced pace bowlers at the tournament. Wicket-keeper Trisha Chetty’s return to the side after an injury lay-off will bode well with the team. The accuracy and aggression of Shabnim Ismail, who is South Africa’s leading wicket-taker in T20Is, will be invaluable. In addition, Masabata Klaas’ consistency and the leg-spin of van Niekerk will make for a very potent bowling attack.

Weaknesses

South Africa will miss fast bowler Ayabonga Khaka, who will not be taking part in the tournament after failing to recover from a shoulder injury in time. Tumi Sekhukhune, Robyn Searle and Saarah Smith have never played in a world tournament before, their inexperience might tell in high-pressure situations. Off-spinner Raisibe Ntozakhe, who had been initially named in the squad, was found to have an illegal bowling action and so was suspended from bowling in international cricket. The late exclusion of Ntozakhe has weakened the Proteas women spin bowling stocks.

History at the Women’s World T20

South Africa reached the semi-final of the tournament when it was held in Bangladesh in 2014. They failed to go past the first round in the Women's World T20 in 2016. For a team as talented as South Africa have been over the past decade it is surprising that are yet to reach the final of this tournament. This is something they will aim to rectify this month.

Recent form in T20Is

W W NR L L L W L L W (most recent first)

This year South Africa have had mixed returns in the shortest format of the game. In February, they lost 3-1 at home in a five-match series against India. Then made amends with a 3-0 clean sweep of Bangladesh whom they hosted in May 2018. In the triangular series that followed in England, which also featured New Zealand, they could only manage one win over the hosts in five attempts. In the lead-up to the World Cup, the Proteas drew their five-match series 2-2 against the reigning ICC Women’s World T20 champions, the Windies, in Trinidad.

Fixtures

12 Nov: v Sri Lanka, Saint Lucia
14 Nov: v Windies, Saint Lucia
16 Nov: v England, Saint Lucia
18 Nov: v Bangladesh, Saint Lucia

**Squad:**Dane Van Niekerk (c), Chloe Tryon (vc), Trisha Chetty (wk), Mosaline Daniels, Mignon Du Preez, Yolani Fourie, Shabnim Ismail, Marizanne Kaap, Masabata Klaas, Lizelle Lee (wk), Sune Luus, Zintle Mali, Robyn Searle, Tumi Sekhukhune, Laura Wolvaardt