SA U19 women eye T20 World Cup glory: ‘We’re just going to play cricket’

South African women’s U19 cricketer Karabo Meso says the Junior Proteas will “just play cricket” when they take on India on Sunday in the final of the T20 Women’s U19 World Cup being played in Malaysia.

The South African team qualified for the final with a five wicket win against Australia in Kuala Lumpur on Friday and now face India, who beat England in their semi-final by nine wickets. The Junior Proteas women’s team are unbeaten at the tournament.

Wicket-keeper and batter Meso said there would be plenty of nerves in the team on Sunday ahead of the match but that the girls should simply continue to “just play cricket”.

Nerves

“I know I’ll feel nervous on the day, when tomorrow (Sunday) comes,” said Meso ahead of the big game.

“But, they will be good nerves, I promise. It’s the final, everyone will feel different, but we’re just going to play our best and hopefully win the World Cup.

“It’s a day we’ll remember forever … we just need to do the same thing we did for the semis, and that’s to just play cricket. We know it’s a big game, but we mustn’t let it get into our heads. We must embrace the moment … the prize is there for us.”

Pressure and expectation

South African cricket teams in general have struggled in big tournaments, with the senior men’s Proteas team getting close on a few occasions, but never been able to go all the way.

Asked if the U19 women’s team were feeling the pressure and weight of expectation, Meso said: “Not really, there’s no pressure. It’s a cricket game, but there’s a name for it, it’s the final. We’re just going to play our best, for our country.

“We’re going to play cricket, go with the flow, and do what we know we can do.”

The match starts at 8.30am SA time.