‘Double-header gives us an advantage’ – Amy Satterthwaite

Amy Satterthwaite, the New Zealand batter, said her side will look to get the basics right during their Women’s Twenty20 International tri-series double-header on Thursday, 28 June, against South Africa and England.

“It is going to be a huge day for us," said Satterthwaite. "We know that the double-header is physically and mentally going to be a big one to get up for. We are just looking forward to improving on our basics, and we are looking forward to our big challenge on Thursday."

New Zealand need to win at least one of the two matches to seal their spot in the final, and Satterthwaite believed playing both matches on the same pitch gave them an advantage the second time around.

“The beauty of it is that whatever happens in the first game, we've got to park it and reassess quickly to get ready for the second game," she said. “We'll play on the pitch first and have an advantage in the second match [against England], knowing the conditions.”

A more daunting task awaits South Africa. They lost their first two matches of the series, and have managed just one win so far – the Dane van Niekerk-led side secured a nail-biting six-wicket win against England on Saturday.

Their chances of making the final hang by a thread, but Shabnim Ismail, the pacer, believed that victory against England had provided a much-needed spark.

“I think our losing to England and New Zealand in the first two T20s … for us to mentally prepare ourselves for the next game, and the way we went about playing England, I definitely think it's a different mindset and a mind change in the way we've been playing," she said.

“Although it was a nail-biting end, it was a good win for us. It's always nice to have a confidence-boost going into the next game and to have the momentum with us.

“There's always going to be ups and downs, but I always believe it's in the way you bounce back. I think the way we bounced back against England, that was a real confidence booster us. We just want to go into the New Zealand game and keep the momentum with us.”

The last round of league games will be played in Bristol on Thursday, with the final set to be played in Chelmsford on Sunday.