Calm And Composed U19 Proteas Women Advance To Next Round Of T20 World Cup

The Under-19 Proteas women side will advance to the next round of the T20 World Cup in Malaysia, after dominating performances with the bat and ball during their first three matches.

The Proteas U19s beat Nigeria by 41 runs on the DLS method after the match was reduced to eight overs each. SA put up 49/2 and squeezed Nigeria to 24/8 in their eight overs. Seshnie Naidu won player of the tournament with her destructive spell of 2/1 from an over.

After successful opening partnerships against the two Pacific Island nations, Jemma Botha and Simone Lourens got the Proteas off to a good start with a 41-run partnership. Lourens pounded four 4s to put up 25/29 while Botha added 10 from 15.

Botha and Lourens spoke to Independent Media during an exclusive interview after the match, and detailed how the pair have fed off each other's energy.

The main thing we have focused on was staying calm at the crease. I think Simone really helps me with that and I try to keep her calm as much as I can. Also try to follow the plan to the best of our ability, find the boundaries and just put our team in a good space, Botha said.