Chloe Tryon runs between the wickets during the fourth ODI between the Proteas Women and West Indies at the Wanderers last month. Picture: Gallo Images
When Chloe Tryon first started playing international cricket back in 2010, South Africa were not considered prime contenders when it came to ICC tournaments. Now, as they prepare for the Women’s World Cup in New Zealand, the Proteas are under ever more scrutiny as the second-ranked team in ODIs.
It is a pressure the 28-year-old Tryon says they are growing more accustomed to all the time, having learned plenty of tough lessons from their semi-final exits in the 2017 World Cup and the 2020 T20 World Cup.
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“We’ve come close before but been disappointed, so this tournament is about taking the next step,” Tryon said on Wednesday.
“We have to make sure we keep it simple, tick all our boxes. We will treat it as just another game, but we are used to playing in World Cups now, so it’s time to make that next step and take a bit more responsibility.
“There’s still a long way to go before the World Cup starts on March 5, so at the moment it’s just about putting the building blocks in place.”
South Africa’s previous visit to New Zealand, in 2020, saw them win the ODI series against their powerful hosts, so they will be confident they have the resources for the playing conditions to enable them to push for glory.
The Proteas open their campaign against Bangladesh in Dunedin.
In the Group Stage, the eight competing sides will participate in a single-league format with each team playing the other once, the format that was previously used in the 2017 tournament. The top four sides following the conclusion of the league matches will progress to the semi-finals, with the winners meeting in the final on April 3 in Christchurch.
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