SA women looking to change fortunes against Australia on Down Under tour

Having never beaten Australia in any format of the game, the South African women’s cricket team has a mountain to climb when they take on their opponents on home turf in a multi-format tour between 27 January and 18 February.

Then of course there’s also a ting of revenge in the air after the Proteas suffered defeat at the hands of the Aussies last year in the final of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup at Newlands in Cape Town.

The Down Under tour will feature three T20Is and three ODIs. This will be followed by the first-ever test match between the two countries.

Australia currently sits at the top of both the T20I and ODI world rankings and the Proteas (3rd on ODI rankings and 5th on T20I rankings) have their work cut out for them. The South Africans’ best ODI result against the Aussies was a tie in November 2016 while they are 0-7 in T20Is.

With Laura Wolvaardt holding the captain’s reigns once again, the Proteas need all the competition they can get as they build towards the 2024 T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in September. The team is strengthened by the return of Chloé Tryon who was absent from recent international duty. After earning her national call-up for T20I duty last year, Ayanda Hlubi will now also see some ODI action in Australia.

Head coach Hilton Moreeng has expressed confidence in his players, saying it is a good mixture of youngsters and experience.

“It was a very good year for us as a team in 2023, so we look forward to building on that. We finished off well with the tour against Bangladesh … we got what we wanted out of it, such as the education around the game, touching base regarding the red ball, and what we want to achieve.

“We also touched on our skills regarding the white ball, where we are going, and what is required, so the selected squad is very well-balanced and competitive, and we are very confident going into Australia.”

Now in his 12th year as coach, Moreeng recently had his contract extended until the end of the 2023-24 season. After returning from Australia, he will also take charge of a home series against Sri Lanka, starting towards the end of March. The search for his replacement is continuing.

Meanwhile, Australia will take on South Africa with the same 15 players that recently toured India where they managed to win both the ODI and T20I series. Selector Shawn Flegler has been quoted as saying they look forward to hosting the Proteas as “South Africa were formidable opponents in the T20 World Cup final in Cape Town”.

TEAMS

SOUTH AFRICA: Laura Wolvaardt (captain), Anneke Bosch, Tazmin Brits, Nadine de Klerk, Mieke de Ridder, Ayanda Hlubi, Sinalo Jafta, Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka, Masabata Klaas, Suné Luus, Eliz-Mari Marx, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Chloé Tryon, Delmi Tucker.

AUSTRALIA: Alyssa Healy (captain), Darcie Brown, Heather Graham, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham.

FIXTURES

1st T20I - Saturday 27 January 2024 – 01:45 - Manuka Oval, Canberra

2nd T20I - Sunday 28 January 2024 – 01:45 - Manuka Oval, Canberra

3rd T20I - Tuesday 30 January 2024 – 10:05 - Bellerive Oval, Hobart

1st ODI - Saturday 3 February 2024 – 05:40 - Adelaide Oval, Adelaide

2nd ODI - Wednesday 7 February 2024 – 05:40 - North Sydney Oval, Sydney

3rd ODI – Saturday 10 February 2024 – 05:40 - North Sydney Oval, Sydney

Test - 15-19 February 2024 – 05:40 - WACA Ground, Perth