Tryon made key contributions in the Proteas' last two nail-biting matches.
Having been pushed all the way to the line in their last two matches, all-rounder Chloe Tryon says the national team are relieved to be standing up under pressure at the Women’s Cricket World Cup.
In Visakhapatnam on Monday, the SA squad edged Bangladesh, earning a three-wicket victory with three balls to spare.
This followed another nail-biting win over tournament hosts India a few days earlier at the same venue.
“It’s been two tight games but we’re still finding ways to get over the line, which is really exciting for this team,” Tryon said.
“We’ve still got a long way in the competition, and we haven’t played our perfect game yet, but we are slowly getting there.”
Crucial partnerships
Tryon played key roles in both the last two matches. She made 49 runs in a 69-run partnership for the seventh wicket with big-hitting lower order batter Nadine de Klerk against India, and then hit 62 in a match-winning 85-run stand for the sixth wicket with Marizanne Kapp against Bangladesh.
Playing in her fourth ODI World Cup, 31-year-old Tryon was pleased her experience had helped keep the Proteas in contention for the playoffs, with assistance from other middle- and lower-order batters.
“Once you get a really good partnership going, you can thrive off that, and then we’ve got finishers at the back end who make it look nice and easy,” she said.
“But I think for me, I’m just making sure I’m taking the responsibility.”
Exciting for the women’s game
Tryon felt the thrilling contests the Proteas (ranked fourth in the world) had played in their last two games, narrowly beating higher-ranked India and lower-ranked Bangladesh, suggested the depth of the international women’s game was improving.
“Every single game at this World Cup is important. We’re not taking anything for granted,” she said.
“I feel Bangladesh (ranked seventh) came really hard at us and put us in a really tough situation, so we’re just making sure that we’re still playing our brand of cricket, but I definitely feel the gap is closing… and it’s really exciting for the women’s game.”
South Africa, lying third in the standings with six points after picking up three wins from their four matches thus far, will face tournament co-hosts Sri Lanka in their next league stage game of the Women’s Cricket World Cup in Colombo on Friday.
