Mandla Mashimbyi stresses keeping it simple against India in T20I series

The series brings to a close a busy summer programme for the South African women’s senior team, which has also served as preparation for the T20 World Cup in England in June. Mashimbyi says while his troops will be excited to face some of the players they look up to on home soil, they should not be overwhelmed once tey take to the field.

"I think we will try and keep it as simple as we can. A good ball remains a good ball. It doesn't know a name, it doesn't care who's batting and we just need to focus on how we're going to execute against those players," said Mashimbyi

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"And I think if we can execute according to the plans that we have for them, we should be okay. And yeah, it's nice to have them here. I mean, this is some of these girls are players that a lot of girls are looking up to and for them to have to brush shoulders with them in South Africa I think it means a lot for a lot of cricketers."

"But I think the biggest thing for us is to keep it as simple as we can and make sure we just execute."

The Proteas Women come into this series off the back of a disappointing tour of New Zealand where they lost both the T20I and ODI series. Mashimbyi, who is a strong believer that they only learn and not lose, says they will take those lessons into both the India matches and the upcoming World Cup.

India currently occupies third position in the ICC women’s international rankings while South Africa is in fifth place. He says this is a good opportunity for his players to gauge their World Cup credentials.