FIXTURES:
Hosts, South Africa is placed in Group D along with Scotland, India, & the UAE.
SQUAD:
South Africa does not feature any player to have represented the senior team.
RECENT FORM:
Being the host nation, South Africa automatically qualified for the inaugural edition of the Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup. In 2022, they played a series against Namibia U-19s. Recently, they were competing against some of the senior internationals and domestic players in the Women’s T20 Super League. Their last preparatory series was against India U-19s which they lost 4-0. In their two warm-up games scheduled before the start of the main event, they lost the first one to Bangladesh by 7 runs on the DLS.
PLAYERS TO WATCH OUT FOR:
Seshnie Naidu - It's been a while since we have seen a frontline wrist spinner in the South African team. The two regulars are all-rounders in the form of Dane van Niekerk and Sune Luus, both of whom are a little slower. South Africa needs that frontline wrist spinner who can turn the games in the middle overs & Seshnie Naidu is their solution at some stage in the future.
Seshnie is the kind of wrist spinner that teams often scout for because they are game-changers. While there is an element of inconsistency with her line and length, it's pretty normal for any wrist spinner, especially at a young age. What's refreshing to see about her is that when she goes for runs, she is open to trying different things. She will be quick to go around the wicket in an attempt to make the batter do something different. She is going to have a massive say in this tournament and would be one of the top spinners to keep an eye out for as she is destined for a lot of success in the upcoming tournament.
Kayla Reyneke - Finger spinners rarely turn the ball these days in the T20 format, but Reyneke does! She bowls at just about the right pace that allows the ball to get some purchase off the pitch & her landing areas always keep the batters in check as they can be a candidate for LBW. Reyneke adds value with the bat as well. She has a very fancy footwork & looks to move around a lot to put the bowlers off & it might as well work at the U-19 level.
Karabo Meso - The right-handed batter is rapid between the wickets and is a very smart batter in how she goes about her business in the middle. She is a busy batter who is on the lookout for quick singles & looks to cut down dots as much as she can.
Anica Swart - Swart is one of the best batters in this South African unit as far as the technique goes. She strikes it powerfully, and these powerful strikes are generally ground shots using a strong bottom hand. She has got a couple of sweeps in her armory.
Ayanda Hlubi - A pacer from South Africa with extra pace shall not be surprising. Hlubi takes the new ball & looks effective with every length that she bowls. She can bowl yorkers, bowl full, bowl in the channel, and bowl it short as well. She will be the key in setting the tone for South Africa with the ball in the powerplay.
PREDICTIONS:
South Africa's biggest challenge is going to be in putting up decent totals or chasing down anything beyond the 120-mark. They have a spin-heavy unit with stand-outs from their bowling attack, but there is reliance on a couple of batters to do a lot of work if they are going to pose a challenge. They are the hosts & that is one big advantage that they have as they have played plenty of cricket of late.