‘We will be prepared’: Proteas women gear up for semi-final

The Proteas are confident they can progress to the final for the first time, after qualifying for the semi-finals of the ICC Women’s World Cup on Thursday.

While their match against the West Indies was washed out at the Basin Reserve in Wellington, the single point was enough to seal second place on the log with a pool game to spare.

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Following their final pool match agaist India on Sunday, a dead rubber for the SA women, they will face the team that finishes third on the log in the penultimate round of the tournament.

“It doesn’t matter who we come up against in the semi-final, I feel like this time around we will be better prepared,” said Proteas all-rounder Marizanne Kapp, with the national side reaching the last four at the global showpiece for the third time.

“So going forward we need to focus on our game against India because we want to finish the group stage well, and then we will shift our focus to the semi-final and see who we are going to face.”

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While they are not yet sure of their opposition, the Proteas have managed to avoid title favourites Australia in the semi-finals, as they will finish top of the log.

As the only team to have beaten the Proteas so far in the competition, however, Australia could be awaiting South Africa in what would be a potentially epic final.

“The last game (against Australia) was the first time in five years that we have played against them, so you can’t look too much at previous records and stuff,” Kapp said.

“I believe if everyone rocks up on the day we will be a force to be reckoned with. So we shift our focus now to India and then the semi-finals, and hopefully we will play them (Australia) again in the final.”