Tryon ready to help SA Women level T20 series

South Africa Women are set for a must-win clash when they face India in the penultimate Cricket South Africa (CSA) Women’s T20 at Centurion on Wednesday. India lead the five-match series 2-1 with South Africa poised to level the competition after their five-wicket victory at Johannesburg on Sunday.

Emerging star Chloe Tryon, 24, was once again a key contributor, striking a 15-ball 34 to clinch that first victory of the series. The cameo comes on the back of an astonishing unbeaten 32 from just seven balls – with four sixes – in the first match of the series. She admits that the hard work – and in particular its focus on power hitting – is beginning to pay off.

“I’ve been preparing really well,” she said. “I’ve been working really hard on the batting and just being really positive when I go out there. I like being under pressure when I bat and I enjoy batting when the team is under pressure, it forces me to be calm and do what I do best."

Tryon is one of a number of power hitters taking the women's game to new levels of expansiveness. Tall and immensely powerful, the right-hander is hitting at a strike-rate of 146 from 37 T20Is, while she lies second in terms of strike-rate behind teammate Lizelle Lee among women who have played 20 or more ODIs.

“I think we play our best cricket when we just go out there and express ourselves and just do the basics right,” Tryon added. “You can’t underestimate the importance of executing those basics. We gel really well as a team and in the previous match, we put on a really good performance that showed just how good we are. I think we just need to use that momentum to push us forward in the next match.”

South Africa Women T20 squad:

Dané van Niekerk (captain, Eastern Province), Marizanne Kapp (Eastern Province), Trisha Chetty (Gauteng), Shabnim Ismail (Gauteng), Ayabonga Khaka (Gauteng), Masabata Klaas (North West), Suné Luus (Northerns), Odine Kirsten (Northerns), Mignon du Preez (Northerns), Lizelle Lee (North West), Chloe Tryon (KwaZulu-Natal Coastal), Nadine de Klerk (Northerns), Raisibe Ntozakhe (Gauteng), Moseline Daniels (Boland).