Laura Wolvaardt declares Proteas Women ready for T20 World Cup

Wolvaardt says it was important to get some game time under their belts before the tournament starts, and have had some lessons taken from playing the last two winners of the competition in the last few days.

South Africa take on Australia in their opening match of the World Cup this afternoon at Old Trafford in Manchester. 

"I think warm-ups are just about spending time in the middle and not getting too fazed bout results. It led to some productive chats over the last few days and sometimes I think it's good to have these kind of games before a tournament just to wake you up a bit."

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She says they had different goals as individual players in the warm-up games, with each player identifying areas they need to improve. 

The skipper added that they will bring all those elements together when they play the first official game.

"Some players wanted to practice their yorkers, others were practicing their slower balls. It may have looked like we weren't all on the same page because it was pretty individual for what each of us were trying to work on."

The two teams meet this afternoon in a repeat of the 2023 final in Cape Town where the Aussies lifted the title. Wolvaardt says coach Mandla Mashimbyi has instilled belief within the team that they can beat any team in the world, and have no past demons haunting them ahead of the battle.