South Africa hopes to move closer to semi-finals with win over Sri Lanka

• South Africa captain Dane Van Niekerk: "This tournament is still anyone’s to win. I said it at the start, you’re never quite safe, there will always be upsets somewhere."
• Sri Lanka's Chamari Athapaththu: “South Africa is a good team, they have two or three fast bowlers, but we have played a lot of cricket against them, both home and away."
• The match can be watched live on SuperSport 2, Supersport.com and its app in South Africa; on Channel Eye and channeleye.lk in Sri Lanka
• The pre-match audios, photographs from the South Africa v Sri Lanka match and post-match video interviews to be available at the Online Media Zone

With a place in the semi-finals of the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 still its for the taking, South Africa captain Dane Van Niekerk insists team confidence is at an all-time high as it prepares for its next challenge.

That comes in the form of Sri Lanka at The County Ground, Taunton on Wednesday, with Inoka Ranaweera’s side still searching for its first win of the tournament.

South Africa, in contrast, has three victories to its name, the latest coming in a 115-run triumph over India on Saturday – a game in which Van Niekerk took four wickets and hit a half-century.

But while South Africa’s opponent is yet to get its tournament up and running with points on the table, Van Niekerk admits her team is in no doubt of the battle that lies in wait.

“The performances Sri Lanka has shown in this tournament have been really good,” said the all-rounder.

“We know how good they are, and we’re not going to go out there underestimating them.

“We are going to go there to play our best cricket, the way we have been playing and our brand, and hopefully that is good enough to get another two points.

“The game against India has been immense for our confidence first of all, and then the momentum going into the next two games.

“I still wasn’t 100 per cent happy with my bowling, so we still have to get back to the drawing board and make sure we tweak the small things and roll teams over when they are down.

“This tournament is still anyone’s to win. I said it at the start, you’re never quite safe, there will always be upsets somewhere.”

Sri Lanka come into its tie with the Proteas on the back of a 47-run defeat by the West Indies at the weekend, and while it has already been confirmed it will be heading home at the conclusion of the pool stage, the team is optimistic it won’t leave without a win.

For batter Chamari Athapaththu, the team has already pinpointed areas for improvement, and is determined to put practice into play come Wednesday.

“South Africa is a good team, they have two or three fast bowlers, but we have played a lot of cricket against them, both home and away,” said Athapaththu.

“We have won a few of those games and I scored a few 50s and hundreds against them. I think we have a chance, and we will do our best.

“I think our spinners are good but we are struggling in that area on this tour. I think in the next match, Inoka [Ranaweera], Shashikala [Siriwardena] and Oshadi [Ranasinghe] can do very well.”

In South Africa, the match can be watched live on SuperSport 2, Supersport.com and its app, while it will be live on Channel Eye and channeleye.lk in Sri Lanka

Squads:

South Africa: Dane van Niekerk (captain), Trisha Chetty. Moseline Daniels, Nadine de Klerk, Mignon du Preez, Shabnim Ismail, Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka, Masabata Klaas, Lizelle Lee, Sune Luus, Raisibe Ntozakhe, Andrie Steyn, Chloe Tryon, Laura Wolvaardt, Odine Kirsten

Sri Lanka: Inoka Ranaweera (captain), Chandima Gunaratne, Nipuni Hansika, Chamari Athapaththu, Ama Kanchana, Eshani Lokusooriya, Chamari Polgampala, Harshitha Madhavi, Hasini Perera, Udeshika Prabodani, Oshadi Ranasinghe, Shashikala Siriwardena, Dilani Manodara, Prasadani Weerakkodi, Sripali Weerakkody and Eshani Lokusuriyage

Umpires: Gregory Brathwaite and Kathy Cross

Match referee: David Jukes

Points Table (as of 10 July)