Momentum Proteas bowler Masabata Klaas says the Proteas are brimming with confidence ahead of the second ICC Women’s Championship One Day International against Sri Lanka.
In the opening ODI on Tuesday, the Proteas, who were sent to bat first, had a good outing at Buffalo Park, East London, against Sri Lanka.
The South Africans posted an impressive 270 runs. Sri Lanka were batting and only had 6 runs when the rain stopped play.
“From that game, we took a lot of positives whereby we were aiming to score 300 plus but unfortunately we wouldn’t because we came short by thirty or forty runs,” Klass said in a media briefing on Friday.
That is the reason, Klaas is confident ahead of today’s ODI when the Proteas again take on the visiting Sri Lanka side in Kimberly.
Victory over Sri Lanka on Saturday will be crucial for qualification points for the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup.
“We’re taking one game at a time,” said Klass.
At 33, the Botshabelo-born bowler says she has inherited more responsibilities in the Proteas team.
“I’m actually in a good space, whereby I think I’m taking a lot of responsibilities with the bowling attack and I’m also learning and growing as a cricketer and bowler,” Klaas told reporters.
“I’m keeping things simple, knowing what I want to do at the end of the day and I stick to that, obviously it won’t always work but you must also actually have a plan B.”
However, not all is lost for the visitors. Last week Sri Lanka won the T20 series 2-1 against the Proteas.
The visitors have added impetus, with the clarification of the status of their captain Chamari Athapaththu.
The 34-year-old sparked speculation about her future when she posted hints about retirement in a now-deleted Facebook post.
Athapaththu reassured her team and fans that her focus was entirely on the upcoming qualifiers.
“I’m focused on the [South Africa] ODIs and World Cup qualifiers. Let’s see in the future.”
The hugely anticipated cricket ODI showpiece is set to kick off later today at 14:00 at the Diamond Oval in Kimberly, Northern Cape.
