The Proteas Women are back in action on Saturday when they face Bangladesh in the first One-Day International that will be played in East London.

The series is important for South Africa and it will signal the beginning of their qualification process for the 2025 ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in India.

The last thing the Proteas want is to be in a position where they have to play in a qualifying tournament in order to go to the World Cup.

The Proteas will be boosted with the return of the allrounders, Nadine de Klerk and Marizanne Kapp, who missed the T20 International series through injury.

The fringe players had some good exposure in the T20 Internationals series, however, the return of De Klerk and Kapp, will be invaluable for the Proteas.

The coach, Hilton Moreeng, said it’s important that they make use of the experience at their disposal for the three-match ODI series.

“I am very happy that we can continue to bring youngsters in to add to the experience we have. We know what is at stake, with both teams having successful ODI series recently, so for us, it's to make sure, particularly on home soil and after the way we started the T20Is, we can improve on that.

“It's a different ball game now; it's the ODIs and there's a lot at stake regarding qualification for the World Cup, so with the experience that we brought in now, we as a team feel very confident going into the series.

“We know what the six points will mean for us because post this tour, we will be finishing the year on a high, especially after the way the year started. We just want to ensure we stay focused, stick to our disciplines, and execute on the day.”

Saturday's first ODI at Buffalo Park gets underway at 14:00.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport