Exclusive: “We don’t mind if people see us as easy opponents,” says Proteas Women all-rounder Nadine de Klerk

South Africa head into upcoming 2024 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in the UAE as underdogs following suffering a tough 12 months of T20 cricket.

CARRYING UNDERDOGS TAG DESPITE RUNNERS-UP FINISH IN 2023 WORLD CUP

South Africa heads into the upcoming 2024 ICC Women's T20 World Cup in the UAE as underdogs. Despite finishing the 2023 edition of the showpiece event as runners-up, the side has done very little to warranty any respect or a favourites tag in the tournament.

After all, Proteas women have won only one out of the seven T20I series that they have played since playing in the World Cup final in Cape Town last year.

Some will reflect on South Africa's past 12 months and cast a verdict that suggests that the side has been on a free fall since that final and that they have now hit rock bottom.

However, though such a verdict would be warranted looking at the series results, it would nonetheless be a shallow reflection, at least according to Proteas women all-rounder Nadine de Klerk.

De Klerk, in conversation with SportsBoom, highlighted how the side has been recovering from the retirements of world-class players such as Shabnim Ismail, Dane van Niekerk and Lizelle Lee.

De Klerk emphasised that the team has had to build a new team, one that the world will grow to respect during the upcoming T20 World Cup which gets underway on 3 October.

With the rise of youngsters such as all-rounder Annerie Dercksen, leg-spinner Seshnie Naidu and fast bowler Ayanda Hlubi, who will be playing alongside experienced heads such as Marizanne Kapp, Luara Wolvaardt and Chloe Tryon, De Klerk believes that South Africa will surprise many teams during the upcoming World Cup.

"When you lose players like Shabnim or Dane, it's not easy to fill those shoes but I was thinking about it the other day, actually, and I was like, I think we have a really good side," De Klerk told SportsBoom.com.

"I think there's just so much confidence within this group. In this World Cup, it will be the first time in a very long time that we bat so deep.”

"I mean, we're going to have more all-rounders coming in at number eight and number nine, which is something we didn't really have in the past, which means we can go a bit harder, a bit earlier in the innings.”

"We didn't have that luxury even last year when we made the finals it was a different side compared to what we have now.”

UNKNOWN YOUNGSTERS NOT A WEAKNESS BUT A WEAPON

De Klerk believes that South Africa's advantage in the upcoming World Cup lies in the limited knowledge that teams around the world have on the budding youngsters who have taken important positions within the Proteas women team.

Dercksen, a 23-year-old who bowls as fast as any of the top fast bowlers in the women's game and can hit the ball for miles, showcased her skills when she smacked an unbeaten 23-ball 44 against Pakistan last week and helped South Africa win the match and the series.

In that knock, Dercksen had muscled six fours and two maximums as she made light work of the skilful Pakistan spinners in conditions that were conducive to spin bowling.

These are the youngsters that De Klerk believes will catch many teams napping in the upcoming World Cup. 
 
"They probably don't know Dercksen, Seshnie Naidu and some of the younger players we have which can sometimes be a weapon because they will see Dercksen walking in at number seven or number eight and they are probably going to think she's only a bowler.”

"They're not going to be aware of her capabilities the way she can hit the ball, and what she has done domestically in South Africa.”

"We've seen in this recent series against Pakistan what Dercksen can do. She's also a big quick with a lot of pace. I think once those young players get confident in their game, our curve is going to go up.”

"I think teams might take us lightly in the upcoming World Cup. I feel like we've kind of always been the underdogs in a sense. Even last year when we played England in the final, no one thought we'd win, even with some of our big players still there.”

"So, I still think people will take us lightly, but it's not always bad to be the dark horse because we might just surprise one or two teams.”

"We don't mind if people see us as easy opponents because I think if we show up on the day and we play our best cricket, we can beat any side in the world," she concluded.

South Africa will play warm-up matches against New Zealand on Sunday 29 September and against India on Tuesday 1 October.