AS a batter, when you have two consecutive yearly averages of 16 and 28 in T20 cricket – as former Proteas Women’s captain Suné Luus had in 2022 and last year – you will be under pressure from the media and the fans at large.
This year, Luus is currently averaging 17 in eight innings, a return that is well below what is expected from an international top-order batter, let alone a former captain of the national side.
However, after not making the playing XI in the T20 series in India this past winter, Luus seems to have got her groove back as batting coach Baakier Abrahams and interim head coach Dillon du Preez have shown faith in the inexperienced batter in the ongoing T20I series in Pakistan.
The right-handed batter returned the favour with an almost flawless 53 off 29 balls that included six fours and one six during the 13-run defeat in the second T20 in Multan on Wednesday night, a knock that suggests that she is finally getting back to form right on time for the T20 World Cup in a few weeks.
With well over 100 T20 Internationals under the belt, Luus understands that form comes and goes, even for the elite players who grace the international scene.
“Batting is ebbs and flows. I mean, you can go through a purple patch for a couple of years and not score runs for a couple of months. That’s just how the game of cricket goes,” Luus said.
“Every single batter that’s played international cricket has gone through that, so I’m not special. I think it’s more about how you bounce back, keeping your head down, keep doing the work, and hopefully performances will come.
“(The half-century during the second T20) is a confidence booster.”
If anything, the series in Pakistan has given the hosts and Proteas a taste of what’s to come in the United Arab Emirates during the T20 World Cup.
Wrap it up!⚡
— Proteas Women (@ProteasWomenCSA) September 19, 2024
Take a look at a quick reel of our 2nd T20i game against Pakistan yesterday. 🇿🇦v🇵🇰
Looking forward to the 3rd and final match tomorrow!😁🏏🏟️#AlwaysRising #BePartOfIt#WozaNawe #SAWvPAKW pic.twitter.com/JF8xsS50nA
The pitches have been slow and conducive to spin. They have been very hard to bat on at times.
Luus said that it is important for them to take in all the lessons from the Pakistan series before they travel to the UAE for the World Cup.
“I think it’s just a preview to the World Cup. The pitches out here are similar to the UAE,” the 28-year-old said.
“It’s just to take these learnings. It’s good to have them ahead of the World Cup, and to just learn from them and take the positives out of it.”
With the series deadlocked at 1-1 heading into today’s final T20 (7am start, SA time), South Africa have an opportunity not only to win their first series in Pakistan, but to win a high-stakes game ahead of the World Cup.
“In the World Cup every single game is pressure. We would’ve loved to win (the second T20) and be a little bit more relaxed in the last game, but this is great for our preparation,” said Luus.
“I think you need to have that ... With the inexperienced players in the team, you need to have that extra pressure going into a big tournament.
“We’ll have to be on our A-game. We’re going to take that pressure on and see how the girls go. Hopefully we can get our first series win in Pakistan.”