Proteas Women need more aggression to keep World Cup hopes alive

“Destiny is in our hands; we know how important this game is to us,” Proteas all-rounder Chloe Tryon said on the eve of a defining clash with India this afternoon.

Two flat performances have left Tryon and the Proteas with no wiggle room at the T20 World Cup.

Lose in Manchester (start: 3.30pm) and their hopes of winning the tournament are over. Win, and the main goal remains within reach.

The Proteas have been in a similar position before. At the home World Cup in 2023 after losing to Sri Lanka in the opener, they bounced back to make it all the way to their first ICC final. Last year’s ODI World Cup saw a debilitating defeat to England at the start, followed by another run to the final.

Although there are plenty of good memories to fall back on, there is also an understanding among the players that they have to perform better than they did against Australia and Pakistan in their first two matches.

“The brand of cricket we play is very aggressive and we want to play to our full capabilities,” said Tryon.

Other than Marizanne Kapp, Laura Wolvaardt and Annerie Dercksen, the rest of the Proteas have looked hesitant. They spoke of being confident before facing Australia but then retreated when the opposition attacked them.

Against Pakistan, they gave away the initiative in both innings before stumbling to victory. They can ill afford a repeat of either of those performances against India.

Unlike the Indian team South Africa faced in April at the World Cup, Harmanpreet Kaur’s side has looked imperious. They dominated against Pakistan and the Netherlands and, except for a tournament-ending injury to spinner Shreyanka Patil, they have operated smoothly, with their best players showing excellent form.

“We took confidence from that series win,” said Tryon about that clash, which South Africa won 4-1. “But at a World Cup it hits differently, there are different stakes up for grabs here. We can’t dwell on that series. We will look at the things that worked for us, but they will come at 200% and we need to know how to counter them.”

The Proteas were definitely more assertive in that series, which was dominated by Wolvaardt’s batting. But Australia and Pakistan did an excellent job of starving her of the strike in the power play, which upset the rhythm of South Africa’s innings.

“For us it’s about being proactive as a batting unit. We haven’t rotated as well as we should have,” said Tryon.

Rotating the strike is a crucial tactic at this tournament because the outfields have been made larger than has usually been the case in the women’s game.

Proteas batting coach Andrew Puttick spoke of the need to adjust to that, and there have been plenty of conversations about running better between the wickets.

Another important factor is adapting better to conditions. Tryon said the pitch this afternoon’s match will be played on is different from last week’s against Australia. The Proteas struggled against the Australians’s four spinners, while their own reliance on pace was instrumental in their downfall.

“We will assess as we go but we need to adapt quickly,” said Tryon.

Whatever the conditions, India is likely to take a page from the playbook used by South Africa’s previous opponents and rely on their spinners, which includes Deepti Sharma and Sree Charani, two of the top five ranked bowlers in the format. That duo have already shared 13 wickets in the tournament thusfar and loom as the primary threat for a Proteas batting unit that has struggled against spin.

India will have added inspiration this afternoon, with their captain Harmanpreet becoming the first player (man or woman) to play 200 T20 Internationals.