On Thursday the Proteas captain Suné Luus addressed the media in the pre-match press conference ahead of the opening game of the tournament against the team from the subcontinent, Sri Lanka, in Cape Town.

In her address, it was clear that there is a lot of excitement in the camp and they cannot wait to try to set the record straight from the 2020 Sydney semi-final against the hosts and eventual champions, Australia. Once again, the weather Gods in Sydney derailed the Proteas and on the day, they lost by 5 runs according to the DLS method.

This time around Luus is confident that the skills level within the team is at its highest yet, this is something they felt maybe lacked three years prior.

“A lot of the skills have improved and I think going into this World Cup we are more confident in our skills,” said the all-rounder.

We have more options individually, and we are a more confident team. Although we are young, we are more balanced with a good mix of youth and experience.

Knowing the skill set we have now and how we've developed over the last two years is very exciting.

They will compete against Sri Lanka, who in turn will hope to alter their unfortunate record of exiting on the first round of women’s World Cups and hopefully make it to the next stage in South Africa. Sri Lanka will want to start their campaign on a high by upsetting the hosts in the opening game.  

The Protea side does boast experienced campaigners such as Luus, Marizanne Kapp, Laura Wolvaardt, and Shabnim Ismail, who all have the ability to single-handedly win matches.

As the countdown continues to the opening game of the World Cup, the excitement is at fever pitch, both from the players and the spectators.

The World Cup will be played at three locations with matches at Newlands, Boland Park in Paarl, and St Georges' Park in Gqeberha.

The match is scheduled to start at 19:00 on Friday evening.

Zenande Mpame/OFM Sport