The Under-19 Proteas women side will advance to the next round of the T20 World Cup in Malaysia, after dominating performances with the bat and ball during their first three matches.
The Proteas U19’s beat Nigeria by 41 runs on the DLS method after the match was reduced to eight overs each. SA put up 49/2 and squeezed Nigeria to 24/8 in their eight overs. Seshnie Naidu won player of the tournament with her destructive spell of 2/1 from an over.
After successful opening partnerships against the two Pacific Island nations, Jemma Botha and Simone Lourens got the Proteas off to a good start with a 41-run partnership. Lourens pounded four 4’s to put up 25/29 while Botha added 10 from 15.
South Africa keep their winning streak intact at the #U19WorldCup to 🔝 Group C.#SAvNIG 📝: https://t.co/9xZz6g2Pqd pic.twitter.com/ui8pHo36vN
Botha and Lourens spoke to Independent Media during an exclusive interview after the match, and detailed how the pair have fed off each other's energy.
“The main thing we have focused on was staying calm at the crease. I think Simone really helps me with that and I try to keep her calm as much as I can. Also try to follow the plan to the best of our ability, find the boundaries and just put our team in a good space,” Botha said.
Botha was named player of the match in the Proteas first game against New Zealand, scoring 32/24. Lourens was right there next to her, smashing two sixes in her 21/14 innings. She said it felt good to put runs on the board for her country.
“It really felt good (hitting sixes) and it gives me a lot of confidence to back my skill,” Lourens said.
Botha said the atmosphere at the Proteas camp has been really positive since the start of the tournament, having gone unbeaten through Group C.
“The girls have been really confident because we have won all our games thus far. I think with us being in the Super 6, we don’t really want to change anything. We still want to be aggressive and attacking and dominate in Super 6’s so that is probably the way we are going to go about it.
“The girls have been really united and backing each other which is beautiful to see and it's nice to know that I am backed and I have theirs as well. So, we just going to take each step in our stride and see how far we go, hopefully we can make the final,” Botha said.
Botha said she felt as if she under-performed the last couple games but it felt nice to know that the team was a dominating force.
Lourens said: “The next stage we have is the Super 6 so we are just trying to take it game for game and just to have fun and enjoy every moment.”
Player of the Match Seshnie Naidu said she has enjoyed every moment of the world cup and has her eyes set on the trophy.
"I’ve been enjoying every minute of this tournament, and this experience has been so amazing.I know exactly what my goals are for this World Cup, and my eyes are set on winning the trophy with my team and management,” said Naidu.
The Proteas will take on Ireland in their first match of the next stage on Saturday January 25 and will then play US on Tuesday, January 8.