Mignon du Preez says the Momentum Proteas are not taking any opposition for granted looking ahead to the team’s next fixture against Sri Lanka in the ICC Women’s World Cup in England and Wales.
The team arrived in Somerset on Sunday and began preparation for what Du Preez has described as a must-win match if the side hope to secure a semi-final spot.
Speaking about the team’s 115-run victory against India in Leicester on Saturday, she said:
“We knew that the game against India was a must-win for us to make sure that we still have a chance of getting to the semi-finals. The girls did a brilliant job, just the way that Lizelle (Lee) batted up front to set up the innings was great to see. There were moments where we didn’t play as well as we could have, we lost a few quick wickets, but all in all, I felt as though everyone chipped in, it was a nice all-round team performance.
“Once again, our bowlers were absolutely brilliant. It was the same venue as the West Indies game so I think the girls really like to play there.”
After a long bus ride to Somerset on Sunday, Du Preez believes that the team showed good intensity at Monday’s practice session.
“We had a long travel day yesterday,” she continued. “It was good to get together and buy some snacks and have a comedy night at the hotel, getting away from the game and not talking about the tournament or how the other teams are doing.
“We’re at a new venue today, it’s slightly different but fortunately we had some strips on the field for the batters to be able to see what it might be like to bat here. It looks like the conditions are going to be fairly different from Leicester.
Our main aim today was to get a feel of what the ground is like, what the wicket feels like and the wind direction because it’s quite windy today and looks to stay that way over the next few days. We’re just really looking forward to playing Sri Lanka on Wednesday.”
Sri Lanka have yet to win a match in the tournament so far and Du Preez is aware that they would want to change that with a win against South Africa. She says that they will not underestimate them.
“In a World Cup event we would never take any opposition lightly,” she went on. “We’ve been beaten by them before in an ICC tournament.
We know we’ll have to bring our A-game when we play them. You can’t think that just because a team hasn’t won a match yet that you will get an easy win. This is a must-win game for us to make sure that we stay alive in the competition and reach the semis, which is our first goal.
“We’ll have a look at the opposition of course, but we’ll spend most of our time on our game plans and making sure that we execute them to the best of our ability come match day.”
South Africa’s match against Sri Lanka will be live on SuperSport 2 from 11:00 SA time.
– African News Agency (ANA)
