Proteas women must ‘put the puzzle together’, says Nadine de Klerk

2026-03-24 - 09:11

The SA women’s team have already acknowledged they need to improve with the ball and in the field, but all-rounder Nadine de Klerk says the Proteas also need to hit their straps with the bat as they go in search of a consolation victory in the fifth and final T20 International against New Zealand in Christchurch on Wednesday (3.45am start). Heading into the match 3-1 down, South Africa were unable to win the series, but De Klerk said they were hoping to put together a solid all-round performance in the dead rubber fixture. Some players in the squad had produced with the bat in the previous four games – most notably Kayla Reyneke and Annerie Dercksen – but De Klerk felt they needed to combine better as a unit. “I think it’s important that we try and string together a few good partnerships. It’s just a bit broken at the moment. Our batting unit hasn’t quite put the puzzle together yet,” De Klerk said. “So I think this is an ideal opportunity for us to go out there and really put up a batting performance and then try to back that up in the field.” Eager to gain momentum The Proteas were hoping to hit back in the last T20 game of their tour in order to take some momentum into the three-match one-day international (ODI) series against the White Ferns starting this weekend. “We want to rock up and put up a team performance,” De Klerk said. “We’ve been very disappointed with the way we’ve played, so we really want to take a lot of pride into that ODI series and show the world and New Zealand what we’re made of.”