OPINION: Proteas women must beat Sri Lanka to keep the pressure off

The SA team will put one foot in the semifinals if they beat Sri Lanka in a crucial World Cup encounter in Colombo.


It’s a cliché in tournaments that ‘every game is important’, but the clash against Sri Lanka in Colombo on Friday could be the most crucial encounter for the Proteas at the Women’s Cricket World Cup.

South Africa are well placed, lying third in the first-round standings, but they still have some work to do to secure their place in the semifinals.

Though they have won three of their four matches thus far in the opening round, the Proteas women have been inconsistent, and they have had to dig deep at the death in their last two games.

They have a chance on Friday, however, to take the pressure off themselves in the closing stages of the round-robin phase of the competition.

Sri Lanka dangerous at home

Sri Lanka, who are two places below South Africa in the women’s ODI rankings, have not won a match in four games thus far. But they have been unlucky (two of their fixtures have been abandoned due to poor weather) and they will be desperate to pick up some crucial points.

As co-hosts, Sri Lanka will also be boosted by playing in front of their home crowd in Colombo, which makes them dangerous.

The Proteas will enter the match as favourites, but considering how close their last two games were against India and Bangladesh (narrowly winning both matches by three wickets) they can’t take anything for granted and will need to hit their straps with bat and ball.

Looking ahead, the SA team will not want to be relying on their last two round-robin fixtures against Pakistan and Australia to book their spot in the playoffs.

Unpredictable Pakistan team

Pakistan have struggled in the tournament, lying bottom of the log, but they had England against the ropes at 133/9 before rain disrupted their match on Wednesday, which was ultimately abandoned.

And considering how well England have played (going undefeated thus far and thumping the Proteas in their tournament opener) it’s an indication of how unpredictable Pakistan can be, and the SA team won’t want to have to beat them next week because their last match of the league stage is against top-ranked Australia.

So it is an overused cliché that every match is important, but the reality is that South Africa’s game against Sri Lanka could be vital in ensuring they progress to the semifinals.

There will be no time for complacency and they need to make sure they win this one. If not, they will be under tremendous pressure in the run-up to the playoffs.