Proteas Women's allrounder Chloe Tryon is excited about the new blood in the team ahead of their series against New Zealand.
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Proteas Women’s all-rounder Chloe Tryon emphasised that the team aims to make the most of their upcoming five-match T20I series against New Zealand Women as the 2026 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup looms large.
South Africa Women are currently in New Zealand bracing for a five-match T20I series that will run simultaneously with the Proteas Men’s series against the Black Caps, with the first match scheduled to get under way on Sunday.
The Proteas Women have their sights set on the T20 World Cup in the United Kingdom this coming winter, where the side will look to go one step further after reaching back-to-back finals in the previous two editions.
South Africa will play New Zealand Women for the first time in T20 cricket since the 2024 T20 World Cup final. Tryon argues that the team has moved on from that disappointment and that they have their sights on making the necessary improvements to put themselves in a position to win the trophy this year.
“Last time we played New Zealand was during the World Cup final, which was pretty heartbreaking for us. Like I said, it's been a while since we've been here, so playing them in their backyard is never going to be easy, but I think we've still come off a really good series against Pakistan,” said Tryon.
“I think we've reflected a lot on it. We've played a lot of cricket since then, so we can't really dwell on that. We take learnings from it, but we're probably just worried about how we're going to play and the brand of cricket we want to play.
"I think we've had some really good things in the Pakistan series, but there are still areas to improve on. It's going to be really good to have five T20s here, especially with the World Cup around the corner. We want to get building blocks in place, and I feel like it's a fresh start now.”
On Sunday, the Proteas Women will start things off with the men’s fixture taking place immediately after—a double-header format that is rare and exciting for Tryon and her teammates. Tryon added that they have acclimatised well since arriving in New Zealand.
“We don't get to do that often, so it's obviously nice that we get to play and then they play after us, so we get to watch them at the end. It's really exciting and hopefully moving forward we can have a lot more of those,” said Tryon.
“It's been a while since we've been here. Just getting used to the time difference and the travel was obviously a little bit tough, but I think everyone's been doing really well. We've had two really good sessions and the team's just eager to get the first game under way on Sunday.”