South Africa will face England in the semifinals in Guwahati on Wednesday.
Though they were disappointed to be crushed by Australia at the weekend, wicketkeeper/batter Sinalo Jafta insists the Proteas will shake off that result as they set their sights on next week’s playoffs at the Women’s Cricket World Cup.
In their last match of the opening round against the defending champions in Indor on Saturday, the SA team were bowled out for 97 runs, and the Australians chased down their target within 17 overs.
Jafta felt it was an opportunity for the national squad to correct their errors ahead of the semifinals, as they targeted a place in the final of the ODI World Cup for the first time.
“Obviously it’s disappointing to lose the way we did. What coach Mandla (Mashimbyi) says to us is ‘always have a chicken brain’,” Jafta, who made 29 runs, said after the match.
“We’ll assess where we went wrong, but by the time we get on the plane tomorrow to go to Guwahati, we will be switched on because we know what’s at stake.”
Ready for England clash
The Proteas had already qualified for the playoffs ahead of their game against Australia, and Jafta said they were confident of bouncing back in the playoffs after winning five of their seven games in the league stage of the global spectacle.
South Africa were set to face England in the first semifinal in Guwahati on Wednesday, while Australia were gearing up to meet hosts India in the second semifinal on Thursday.
“It’s literally about going out there, forgetting what happened and just focussing on what works for us,” she said.
“We’ve proved we can do it before, so what’s stopping us from doing it again?”
Learning from their mistakes
Having been thumped by England in their opening match of the showpiece earlier this month, Jafta believed the Proteas had learned enough from that loss, as well as their defeat to Australia, to know what to focus on in their semifinal clash.
“We’re facing England and we obviously played them in the first game and it didn’t go the way we wanted, but I think going into that match we know exactly what to do,” she said.
“We’ve prepped, and no game like this (against Australia) makes us a bad squad. It’s just about honing in together, and the culture has been brilliant, so we’ve got that bounce back ability.”
