Proteas women determined to make a strong start in T20 series against Sri Lanka

Speaking at the start of the South Africa squad's first training session, experienced top-order batter Sune Luus shared her eagerness for the upcoming battle against the Sri Lankan outfit. 

"It's been quite a long season but a successful one," Luus noted. "It will be good for us to finish off the season with a good couple of series wins. 

"Sri Lanka is a very talented squad, we know what they bring. All the subcontinent teams are very spin-dominant and they're very good at their skill. 

"It's also a bit concerning that (Chamari) Athapaththu didn't score in the WPL, so she's due some runs. We're playing at grounds where sometimes it's very spin-conducive, so it's going to be a bit of a challenge, but a good challenge. 

She added: "We have a very good squad, some new faces as well, which is very exciting. Just excited to get the series up and away."

Head coach Hilton Moreeng emphasized the importance of preparation over the coming days to help the team take their best foot forward when the action starts at Willowmoore Park on Wednesday. 

The Proteas have previously experienced slow starts to tours throughout the season, including an opening-series loss against Bangladesh in December. 

"At the end of the day, what's going to be key is how we focus. We work and we speak about these things and it's just unfortunate for us it's become a pattern that we don't want to be accustomed to and we need to make sure that we don't play catch-up cricket. 

"From the first ball, we need to make sure we're ready for what is coming. The two teams have played a lot of cricket against each other and they know each other very well. There shouldn't be a lot of surprises."

Echoing her coach's sentiments, Luus added: "It's always important for us to start and end well. In the first game, we need to be up and running and get that momentum on our side. 

"We start a little bit slow, but we're in-season and there's been a lot of domestic games happening as well, so there shouldn™t be any rustiness there. 

"Everyone's good to go and should be ready on Wednesday."

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