The Proteas will have shaken off the memories of two warm-up game defeats by the time they take on the West Indies in their opening ICC Women’s T20 World Cup game on Friday, Proteas Women bowler Ayabonga Khaka believes.
Khaka, who claimed her first five-wicket haul for the national team against India on Tuesday, said they must go back to the drawing board to iron out any creases long before they step onto the field at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, starting at noon SA time.
Playing their final warm-up game, Khaka’s heroics with the ball helped restrict India to 144/7 in their 20-over allotment.
However, a stuttering batting display saw the Proteas fall short by 28 runs, to finish their innings on 116/6.
“I think we had great preparation [leading up to this tournament],” she said.
“We will take things game by game, and we will not look too far ahead, we know what we want to do and achieve, so we will keep working towards that.”
Having won a T20 series in Pakistan before their travels to the United Arab Emirates, Khaka felt that series was a good indicator of where they were as a team.
“The series was a way to assess where we are as a team and just to get some game time under our belts, which I think we did well.
“We know who we are as a side and will look to carry the momentum from the Pakistan series forward,” she said.
The right-arm medium pacer said the excitement of the new faces in the group created a positive atmosphere with the added experience of the senior players giving stability to the overall squad.
Speaking about Tuesday’s defeat, Khaka felt that while the result was not what they were looking for, there were still positives to take from both performances against New Zealand and India.
“We started well with the ball in the first innings, but we are still not happy, as bowlers there are still some things to fix but perhaps our execution was a bit better today [Tuesday].
“The second half [innings] is not who we are as a team, so we need to go back and see what we can potentially change for the opening game,” she said.
Speaking about her “fifer” against India, Khaka said: “It was a warm-up game, so I tried to be simple [in my execution] as much as I can while still trying a few things and getting out of my comfort zone.
“It worked well for me, I will take what I can out of this game and work on that moving forward.”
HeraldLIVE
Proteas Women will be ready for World Cup opener — Khaka
Image: DARREN STEWART /GALLO IMAGES
The Proteas will have shaken off the memories of two warm-up game defeats by the time they take on the West Indies in their opening ICC Women’s T20 World Cup game on Friday, Proteas Women bowler Ayabonga Khaka believes.
Khaka, who claimed her first five-wicket haul for the national team against India on Tuesday, said they must go back to the drawing board to iron out any creases long before they step onto the field at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, starting at noon SA time.
Playing their final warm-up game, Khaka’s heroics with the ball helped restrict India to 144/7 in their 20-over allotment.
However, a stuttering batting display saw the Proteas fall short by 28 runs, to finish their innings on 116/6.
“I think we had great preparation [leading up to this tournament],” she said.
“We will take things game by game, and we will not look too far ahead, we know what we want to do and achieve, so we will keep working towards that.”
Having won a T20 series in Pakistan before their travels to the United Arab Emirates, Khaka felt that series was a good indicator of where they were as a team.
“The series was a way to assess where we are as a team and just to get some game time under our belts, which I think we did well.
“We know who we are as a side and will look to carry the momentum from the Pakistan series forward,” she said.
The right-arm medium pacer said the excitement of the new faces in the group created a positive atmosphere with the added experience of the senior players giving stability to the overall squad.
Speaking about Tuesday’s defeat, Khaka felt that while the result was not what they were looking for, there were still positives to take from both performances against New Zealand and India.
“We started well with the ball in the first innings, but we are still not happy, as bowlers there are still some things to fix but perhaps our execution was a bit better today [Tuesday].
“The second half [innings] is not who we are as a team, so we need to go back and see what we can potentially change for the opening game,” she said.
Speaking about her “fifer” against India, Khaka said: “It was a warm-up game, so I tried to be simple [in my execution] as much as I can while still trying a few things and getting out of my comfort zone.
“It worked well for me, I will take what I can out of this game and work on that moving forward.”
HeraldLIVE
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