South Africa wrapped up the series on Friday with a convincing six-wicket win in a rain-reduced clash on the East Rand, taking an unassailable 2-0 lead. Earlier in the week, they edged Pakistan by five wickets in a Potchefstroom thriller that went right down to the final over.

With it being a T20 World Cup year, building momentum is non-negotiable. The global showpiece in England is fast approaching, and while results are important, so too is fine-tuning combinations and sharpening skills under pressure.

Although the Proteas Women have started the year with back-to-back wins, they are under no illusions about the road ahead. 

There is belief in the camp that they can become a genuine powerhouse in the women’s game, but they know consistency will be key.

All-rounder Nadine de Klerk, who featured in her first match for South Africa of the year during the Benoni victory, said the mindset within the squad has shifted. It’s no longer just about winning series – it’s about dominating them.

“I think it’s something we’ve spoken about a lot over the last couple of months. In the past, we probably didn’t have the best bilateral series, and then we’d arrive at World Cups and shock the world,” said De Klerk.

Nadine de Klerk. Photo: Cricinfo

“But we always knew we were better than that and capable of winning series consistently as well.

“Winning the Ireland series and then coming here and dominating again shows how far we’ve come.

“There was pressure in that first game, but having someone like Kayla Reyneke step up on debut and help win it says a lot about the depth in our squad and the character of this team.

“We’re finding ways to win, which is great. Even when we’re 2-0 up, we don’t just want to win – we want to whitewash teams, dominate world cricket, and show exactly what we’re made of. That mindset is really important for us going into the next game.”

Fatima Sana. Photo: Cricinfo

De Klerk added that cricket remains a “funny old game”, where fortunes can shift quickly, but the focus remains on constant improvement.

“That’s just the nature of cricket sometimes,” she explained.

“There’s a bit of luck involved, and on any given day, anything can happen. You also have to give credit to the batters – they’re allowed to play good shots – and Fatima Sana batted really well. At the same time, we probably didn’t execute the way we wanted to.

Kayla Reyneke. Photo: Cricinfo

“We came here with specific plans and, even though we won, we had some tough conversations because we knew we wanted to be better. In this game, we had them a few wickets down early again, but this time we closed it out much better. 

“It’s about executing on the day and learning from the matches where you don’t quite get it right. You won’t always execute perfectly, but it’s about coming back stronger the next game – and we were definitely much better in the second one.”

The third and final T20 International at Willowmoore Park gets under way at 18:00 on Monday.

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek cvs