Proteas women staying positive despite series defeat to England

With England having secured a 3-0 clean sweep in the T20 International series that concluded at the weekend, Proteas all-rounder Nondumiso Shangase says the national women’s team are keeping their heads up as they prepare for a three-match ODI series against the tourists.

Though they started well in the first T20 in East London, being edged by four wickets with four balls remaining, the SA squad struggled more as the series progressed.

They lost the second game by 36 runs in Benoni, before England coasted to a nine-wicket win in Centurion on Saturday with more than eight overs to spare.

Shangase top-scored with a career-high 31 runs at SuperSport Park, sharing a 52-run stand with Nadine de Klerk (19) for the sixth wicket, but it was not enough to put the hosts in contention against a dominant England side.

“I was nervous but I kept telling myself ‘Nondu, just calm down, watch the ball and go’,” Shangase said.

“And then my teammates were helping me, especially Nadine who was there for long with me, and she kept telling me ‘Nondu, you’ve got this girl, if it’s in your area just go.

“I managed to stay calm which helped me be strong today.”

Quick turnaround

With just three days to prepare for the first ODI in Kimberley on Wednesday, Shangase said it was key for the SA squad to stay confident in an attempt to hit back.

She felt they could turn things around as long as they retained their self-belief.

“It’s disappointing that we didn’t win even one match (of the T20 series), but we’re still positive because there are still matches to come, and we’ll just keep being positive,” Shangase said.

“We have the skill and we have beaten them before, so I think we must just keep our heads up and bring back that belief that we can do it. And then we just need to do it.”

“We are a good team and we know we can do it. We just need to believe in ourselves, and if we do what we do best, we can win the ODI series.”