Tazmin Brits says the Proteas women will be fully focused when they take on England despite their disappointing World Cup campaign.
South Africa are due to play their first match since their 32-run loss in the World Cup final against New Zealand.
📢 Get ready, Mzansi!
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Time to bring the heat, show our pride, and RISE to the challenge!💚💛
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The three-match T20 series will get the tour underway, followed by three ODI matches and the one-off Test match. The Buffalo Park Stadium in East London will kick things off with the first T20 clash on Sunday.
South Africa made their second T20 World Cup final in a row, and their loss against New Zealand follows a 19-run loss against Australia last year in the final of their home World Cup in Cape Town.
The hard-hitting opening batter has been a standout player for the last couple of seasons for the Proteas, and she continued to play a huge role for the World Cup runners-up, scoring the second highest (187) runs in the tournament.
The 33-year-old told the Independent Media that regardless of previous results, the team will focus on the challenge that lies ahead with the incoming tour as well as the building towards the One Day International World Cup next year in India.
“Playing against England soon, you obviously want to win, no matter what team it is, and we will be playing three formats here in South Africa.
“I can't speak for the team on whether they have overcome the disappointment at the World Cup, but I definitely do know that when we step into the field, whether we had a loss or a win, we always strive to win the next game.”
“I don't think we will hog on to the World Cup too much; time doesn't stand still. There is another World Cup coming up; we are raring and preparing for that.”
South Africa will go into the contest having lost to the former champions by seven wickets at the recently concluded global showpiece, and Brits expect a tough encounter against them, especially because of their poor showing at the World Cup, where they failed to qualify for the semi-finals.
The right-handed batter has also been working on certain aspects of her game since we last saw her in national colours.
“England will come hard; they didn’t have a good tournament; they were eliminated without even reaching the semi-finals, and they will want to come down hard on us, but we will be ready for them,” she added.
“I would like to get my strike rate up. I have been working on it with my domestic franchise (Lions Women); I managed to do that recently, and I scored 50 runs off 20 balls, and my strike rate went a bit up.
“I want to be able to do that in international cricket; I want to get to a point where I contribute massively and not just a run a ball but with a strike rate of at least over 140 and hopefully contribute to the team goals.”