Having made the final of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2023, the Proteas’ preparations leading up to the next showpiece are focused on going all the way this time, all-rounder Annerie Dercksen said.
The green and gold-clad women were losing finalists in a nail-biting, 19-run defeat to Australia at Newlands in Cape Town in February 2023.
The Proteas will have a target on their backs and any one of the 10 teams in 2024’s edition of the tournament will be aiming to break the Aussies’ streak of dominance in the competition.
“I am very excited, the team made the final last year at home, and all of our preparation has sort of been geared towards taking things one step further,” 23-year-old Dercksen said.
“With the tour to India leading up to the World Cup, we had a chance to [play] and prepare in subcontinent conditions.”
The 10-team tournament is set to run from October 3-20, with matches originally scheduled to be hosted at the Sher-e-Bangla National and Sylhet International Cricket stadiums in Dhaka and Sylhet, Bangladesh, respectively.
However, with political unrest ongoing in the country, a change of the host country could be on the cards should the ICC deem Bangladesh unfit to host the spectacle.
Dercksen, who has 10 T20 caps under her belt, was not a member of that tournament held on home soil and will be working hard to earn a spot on the team.
The right-arm medium pacer, who also bats right-handed, was part of a Proteas skills camp held at the Centre of Excellence in Pretoria earlier in August.
Under the guidance of interim head coach Dillon du Preez, the training camp was divided into two focused sessions — a bowling camp from August 5-7 and a batting camp from August 6-8.
The sessions were designed to sharpen skills and ensure peak conditioning for the World Cup.
The combined training camp squad comprised mainly the Proteas Women players who toured India in June and July, along with Western Province batter Faye Tunnicliffe and SA U19 Women players Seshnie Naidu and Miané Smit.
“I was fortunate to be a part of both, we had quality time with the coach, working on things specific to each bowler as a means to fine-tune your technique.
“In terms of the batting, we worked on various swings and approaches to spin bowling, which has been quite cool.
“We have worked really hard and it has been a productive couple of days,” Dercksen said.
She said making the World Cup squad would be another crucial step in her career.
“It would be nice to get picked in the squad going to the World Cup, but for the moment, it is just about fine-tuning everything we have been working on, being the best I can be, and whatever happens, must happen.”
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