An exciting tour of South Africa for the Ireland Women’s team is starting with a three-game Twenty20 International (T20I) series against the Proteas Women. The opener is scheduled to be played on December 5 at Newlands Cricket Ground in Cape Town. It will be followed by matches on December 7 at Boland Park in Paarl and December 10 at Willowmoore Park in Benoni, with each match expected to be fast-paced, played in beautiful surroundings and featuring Ireland trying to test themselves against the home team of South Africa.

After the T20I games have been concluded, the series will continue with a three-game One Day International (ODI) series. The first ODI is set to take place on December 13 at Buffalo Park Stadium in East London, with subsequent ODIs on December 16 at St. George’s Park in Gqeberha, and the final match on December 19 at DP World Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg. The series will cover South Africa’s major cricket regions and should be a great mixture of day/night matches and high-pressure run chases. Both teams are preparing to play under the sunny Southern African skies so expect to see some high quality competitive cricket played during this time.Players to watch out for:

Laura Wolvaardt (SA-W)

Laura Wolvaardt is the foundation of the South African Women’s national cricket team (the Proteas), where she has developed into one of the best players in the world since her debut. She has played 119 ODIs for South Africa and accumulated 5222 runs at 50.69 runs per innings, showing she can score runs consistently over time and can also score big (in the form of 11 hundreds and 38 fifties). Her T20I statistics are better than those in ODI’s, as she has 2088 runs at an accelerated strike rate of 115.10, with an average of 34.80 and one T20I hundred. Therefore, she is able to play well in both formats because of her excellent ability to score runs and make runs easily with great stroke-making.

Dane van Niekerk (SA-W)

Dane van Niekerk was an excellent all-rounder. The statistics for her career show her to be a two-dimensional threat in both formats. In Women’s One Day cricket she played 107 games scored 2175 runs and had 138 wickets at an average of 19.14 and took two five-wicket hauls. In the Women’s T20I cricket she scored 1877 runs and took 65 wickets in 86 matches whilst her batting strike rate was a modestly low 94.94 but she was a valuable spinner whose leg breaks were very useful for maintaining pressure on the opposing team and taking wickets regularly.

Nonkululeko Mlaba (SA-W)

Nonkululeko Mlaba is the main spinner for South Africa and her statistics support her being primarily used as an economical restrictive bowler. She has played 46 ODIs and taken 51 wickets at an average of 33.52 whilst maintaining a good economy rate of 4.83 which proves her effectiveness at stopping runs scored and applying pressure. However, it is in the shortest form of the game that she excels with 53 wickets at an excellent economy rate of 6.25 from 63 WT20Is. This makes her an invaluable member of the team’s strategy to restrict and hold back an opposing team during both the Powerplay and the middle overs.

Gaby Lewis (IRE-W)

Gaby Lewis has been a leading bat for Ireland since her introduction to beginning to end the innings across various formats, but has achieved her most significant success with the Irish Women’s T20I team where she currently has amassed 2723 runs from 103 innings at an impressive strike rate of 117.37, with two centuries and 17 half-centuries to make up the bulk of her runs. She has had solid performances in her career in Women’s ODIs, scoring 1743 runs from 58 innings at an average of 32.27, with 14 half-centuries, but when comparing her higher strike rate and volume of runs in T20Is, it is clear that her real strength lies in T20 cricket.

Arlene Kelly (IRE-W)

Arlene Kelly is a bowling all-rounder who provides breakthroughs as her primary role and has a very effective off-spin in T20I matches. Arlene has also had a strong performance record in Women’s ODIs, taking 40 wickets from 32 innings at a good average of 30.52 and with two four-wicket hauls. In T20Is, Arlene has been even more destructive, capturing 73 wickets from 55 matches at an average of 14.21 and with a superb economy rate of 6.00, including a personal best of 5/12 and two four-wicket hauls. She is able to contribute batting-wise only infrequently, but she has provided strong support to her teams by providing vital breakthroughs with her off-spin bowlers or through her own bowling as needed.