With A Few Tweaks, Proteas Women Believe They Can Hit Back Against England

After narrowly losing to England in the opening match of their T20 International series, the Proteas womens team are confident they can bounce back in the second fixture in Benoni on Wednesday night 6pm start. England won by four wickets with four balls to spare in East London, and the Proteas acknowledged they could have performed better in several areas.

Eliz-Mari Marx, the seam bowler, believes a few adjustments could help them level the series. She pointed out that losing wickets in clusters hurt their batting, and they need to improve on bowling boundary balls. Nadine de Klerk, the all-rounder, had shared similar thoughts earlier in the week.

With Marx and de Klerk leading the attack in the first match, Marx expects the Highveld conditions in Benoni to suit seam bowlers again. "We expect a lot of bounce, but well assess the conditions after training," she said.

Marx, who was left out of the squad for the recent T20 World Cup, was pleased to have another chance to represent South Africa. The 21-year-old seamer took 3/19 in East London and played a key role in keeping South Africa competitive, alongside de Klerk, who took 2/20 and scored 29 not out.

Marx hopes her performance will secure a more permanent spot in the national squad. "My focus is to do my best whenever I get the chance to play," she said. "I just focus on the next game and take the opportunity with both hands."