The Proteas women are looking to make amends for a disappointing turnout in the T20 Internationals with a first-ever series victory against England in the final One Day International at the JB Marks Oval in Potchefstroom today (2pm start).
The series is currently tied at 1-1, with both teams having inflicted heavy defeats on one another in the first two matches.
India will host the 13th edition of the ICC Women’s 50-over World Cup next year, and as important as winning this series will be, a lot of work will also go towards shaping their teams ahead of the global showpiece.
South Africa will have the tough task of bouncing back from their crushing six-wicket loss at Kingsmead Cricket Ground in Durban on Sunday, and they will need to produce an improved showing if they are to secure their first series win against the former world champions.
Batting all-rounder Anneke Bosch believes the Proteas understand the importance of the match, and they will be better prepared heading into the contest.
“We had several tough conversations after the second game; we didn’t apply and execute as we had intended,” Bosch told the media.
“It will be very important for us to get a series win against England. Our T20 series after the World Cup was quite disappointing because of the tournament we had and how well we did there.
“We had a young team, and there were a lot of new players, but we are still disappointed in how that went, and hopefully we can make ourselves proud by winning the 50-over series.
“The last time we played against them in both formats in England, we didn’t do so well; I think they beat us in all the games, but we are looking forward to tomorrow (today) and really looking forward to winning the series.”
On Sunday the Proteas lost seven of their 10 wickets to spin twins Charlie Dean and Sophie Ecclestone. Bosch said that the team is aware of the threat they pose, and they have been working on navigating them heading into this fixture.
The right-handed batter added that they will also take confidence and positives from their six-wicket win in the first clash in Kimberley last week.
“They are world-class spinners, and they have been bowling well throughout the series, and they have put us under pressure. We have been working on plans against them and ways to go about how to apply ourselves a little better when facing them.
“I think they will be as good as any other game today as well, but it will be up to us on how we go about it and try to put pressure on them.
“The fact that we played the first ODI after the T20 series just shows we have the ability to bounce back. We won't dwell too much on the second game that we lost, but we will take the lessons from that. We beat them convincingly in Kimberley, and knowing that we can do it again, we will be ready for the challenge, and we will give it our best.”