International women's cricket action is heading into East London this week as the Proteas take on the West Indies in a three match one-day series, starting at Buffalo Park on Wednesday.
It is the first time the women's team are playing in East London and with all three one-dayers being played in the city, it should bring great awareness for the women's game in the region.
With all three games played at the same venue, it will also see teams getting familiar with the pitch.
“It’s home conditions for us. Most of the players have played in the CSA Women’s Provincial League there and the conditions are not foreign to us,” Proteas coach Hilton Moreeng said.
“I think that keeps the team more focused when there’s no travelling in between venues.
“And the conditions in East London could change on a daily basis – no two days are the same.”
The West Indies play their final warm-up match in Alice today, when they take on an Eastern Cape Invitational team, featuring players from Border, Eastern Province and Kei in a historic game which will be fantastic for the region.
The West Indies will be eager for a win that will give them confidence heading into the SA series.
For the Proteas women, they are fresh off a tough one-day and T20 series against the England women's cricket team.
SA will aim to win the West Indies series, after England claimed victory in both the one-day and T20 series.
The Proteas lost both series 2-1. However, claiming wins over one of the best teams in women's world cricket should give them confidence and the fact that their T20 victory was their first ever against England will have been a big moment for them.
Team captain Mignon du Preez is excited with the way the team is playing and is confident that they are on the right track.
“We've shown tremendous growth and I am very happy with the cricket we are playing at the moment,” Du Preez said.
“We are becoming more consistent with our performances and proved to the world that we are a force to be reckoned with.
“We have not had our ‘perfect game’ yet, where all three departments fire at once, so there is definitely still room for improvement and areas we can work on to get better,” she said.
Du Preez said the team would like to secure a three-nil win over the West Indies to give them an important six points towards the ICC Women's Championship, but admits it will not be an easy task.
“We know the West Indies are always a very strong and competitive side,” Du Preez said.
“They usually play fearless cricket but if you can get on top of them early, you can keep them out of the game because they tend to get demotivated and you can see it in their body language.
“The key would be to capitalise when this happens,” she said.
Today's match in Alice between the WI and Eastern Cape gets under way at 10am.
Wednesday will be the first ODI between the Proteas and West Indies and is starts at 10am.
The second ODI is on Saturday and will be a day/night clash kicking off at 2pm, while next week Monday's final match will start at 10am.
Proteas women take on West Indies in EL for first time
It is the first time the women's team are playing in East London and with all three one-dayers being played in the city, it should bring great awareness for the women's game in the region.
With all three games played at the same venue, it will also see teams getting familiar with the pitch.
“It’s home conditions for us. Most of the players have played in the CSA Women’s Provincial League there and the conditions are not foreign to us,” Proteas coach Hilton Moreeng said.
“I think that keeps the team more focused when there’s no travelling in between venues.
“And the conditions in East London could change on a daily basis – no two days are the same.”
The West Indies play their final warm-up match in Alice today, when they take on an Eastern Cape Invitational team, featuring players from Border, Eastern Province and Kei in a historic game which will be fantastic for the region.
The West Indies will be eager for a win that will give them confidence heading into the SA series.
For the Proteas women, they are fresh off a tough one-day and T20 series against the England women's cricket team.
SA will aim to win the West Indies series, after England claimed victory in both the one-day and T20 series.
The Proteas lost both series 2-1. However, claiming wins over one of the best teams in women's world cricket should give them confidence and the fact that their T20 victory was their first ever against England will have been a big moment for them.
Team captain Mignon du Preez is excited with the way the team is playing and is confident that they are on the right track.
“We've shown tremendous growth and I am very happy with the cricket we are playing at the moment,” Du Preez said.
“We are becoming more consistent with our performances and proved to the world that we are a force to be reckoned with.
“We have not had our ‘perfect game’ yet, where all three departments fire at once, so there is definitely still room for improvement and areas we can work on to get better,” she said.
Du Preez said the team would like to secure a three-nil win over the West Indies to give them an important six points towards the ICC Women's Championship, but admits it will not be an easy task.
“We know the West Indies are always a very strong and competitive side,” Du Preez said.
“They usually play fearless cricket but if you can get on top of them early, you can keep them out of the game because they tend to get demotivated and you can see it in their body language.
“The key would be to capitalise when this happens,” she said.
Today's match in Alice between the WI and Eastern Cape gets under way at 10am.
Wednesday will be the first ODI between the Proteas and West Indies and is starts at 10am.
The second ODI is on Saturday and will be a day/night clash kicking off at 2pm, while next week Monday's final match will start at 10am.
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