Proteas Women expecting another spin onslaught against India

The two teams meet at Old Trafford in Manchester tomorrow, with South Africa the more desperate for the win to claw their way up the Group A standings. 

Puttick’s players were vulnerable against spin bowling in both their matches against Australia and Pakistan at the tournament, and he believes they know how to combat that threat on Sunday afternoon.

"We know the spin is coming, but in saying that we've played spin well in the past and I also think it depends what wicket you're going to get. We're expecting a decent pitch that may be a little bit slow and tough for us during the middle overs with a big outfield, so we'll have to make sure that we're hitting the ball hard into the space and running hard between the wickets."

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Their opening game against Australia was at the same venue last week Saturday, and Puttick believes their familiarity with the conditions puts them at an advantage. He also noted that they played India very recently at home, and might have a good idea of what’s in front of them.

"We've played against India quite a bit of late and we've watched them in the tournament so we'll definitely get maybe 12 to 16 overs of spin, but there's also some decent seamers in their side."

Conversely the Proteas Women relied mainly on seam bowling in the powerplay in both matches, and only introduced Nonkululeko Mlaba and Chloe Tryon after that as their specialist spinners. 

Puttick says they are likely to rope in Suné Luus to also boost their attack with the ball, with Kayla Reyneke serving as another pace option.

South Africa won their last game against Pakistan by two wickets, and Puttick admitted they made it more difficult than it should have been. He believes their success lies in putting together at least one solid partnership to nullify the Indian attack.