Leicestershire, June 10 (IANS) South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt has welcomed a timely reality check ahead of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, insisting her side will need sharper plans and greater execution if they are to overcome Australia in their tournament opener on Saturday.

The Proteas head into the marquee Group 1 clash after concluding their warm-up campaign with a five-wicket defeat to New Zealand in Loughborough. While the result denied South Africa a perfect build-up, Wolvaardt believes it exposed areas that require immediate attention before facing the six-time champions in Manchester.

“We would have liked to win both (warm-up fixtures), but maybe this is just what we needed just before the tournament starts. Just a little eye-opener that is not just going to happen and we can’t just go through the motions with the ball,” Wolvaardt said.

South Africa struggled to consistently contain New Zealand’s batting line-up, and the skipper admitted that tactical improvements would be essential against a side as experienced and ruthless as Australia.

“I think we’ve come up against a quality side today and they sort of outsmarted us with the bat today. So we’re going to have some good strategies in place for the Australia game and hopefully we’re able to turn it around,” she added.

Despite the defeat, the Proteas found a major source of encouragement in the explosive form of all-rounder Chloe Tryon, who produced one of the standout innings of the warm-up phase.

Walking in during the middle overs, Tryon launched a blistering assault on the New Zealand attack, finishing unbeaten on 61 from just 26 deliveries and clearing the boundary six times. The innings provided South Africa with much-needed momentum and underlined the value of her experience heading into the tournament.

“That was awesome. I think it’s been a while since she’s like struck a ball that sweetly. I think she held her shapes really well. She was hitting so nice through the line of the ball and it’s quite hard to bolt her when she’s in that form. I think she was taking some balls from outside leg and hitting them over the covers for six. It’s great that she’s able to find, or has been able to find a bit of form before the tournament,” Wolvaardt stated.

With three days remaining before their World Cup campaign begins, South Africa will spend the coming sessions refining plans for Australia while hoping Tryon can carry her destructive touch into one of the biggest fixtures of the group stage.

–IANS

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