Proteas women eager to bounce back from World Cup heartache

A little more than a month after their defeat in the T20 World Cup final, all-rounder Sune Luus says the Proteas women’s team are eager to pick themselves up and bounce back during their month-long home tour against England starting this weekend.

Playing their second successive T20 Women’s World Cup final, the SA team were defeated by New Zealand in the trophy battle at the global showpiece in the United Arab Emirates in October.

Returning to the field, Luus said on Friday they looked forward to their battle against England on home soil.

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“It was a great World Cup for us. I think back-to-back finals is something special,” Luus said.

“We’ve had a lot of time off just to reflect on everything, and the last couple of weeks we’ve been back grinding hard.

“Obviously this is going to be a tough series… so we’ve just been preparing and we’re looking forward to it.”

Seven-match tour

Starting in East London on Sunday, the Proteas will host England for a full tour which includes three T20 Internationals, three one-day internationals and a rare Test match on home soil.

With the tourists having been narrowly edged out of a place in the playoffs at the recent T20 World Cup, Luus expected them to put up a gutsy fight in what was expected to be a tightly contested tour.

“England always bring their A-game and they always play good cricket, so it’s always going to be a tough challenge playing against them,” Luus said.

“Luckily it’s in South Africa so we know the conditions, and we know we have a strong side as well with a couple of young players coming in, so it’s very exciting.

“We’re not here to go down without a fight. I think both teams are here to play good cricket.”

Tour fixtures

Following the first T20 match of their tour in East London on Sunday, the Proteas will face England in T20 Games in Benoni and Centurion.

They will then host the visitors in ODI matches in Kimberley, Durban and Potchefstroom, ahead of their one-off Test in Bloemfontein starting on 15 December.