The Proteas Women are playing for more than a clean sweep when they face Pakistan on Sunday.
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The in-form Proteas Women's all-rounder Annerie Dercksen has reiterated the team's ambition to win the Black One Day International (ODI) match against Pakistan Women on Sunday, citing that the fixture carries significant weight.
The Black ODI was started to highlight the scourge of cause of Gender-based Violence (GBV) in South Africa, and the players want to put in a top performance to help in the fight against the abuse of women and children.
The Proteas Women are highly motivated heading into the third and final ODI. The side is eager to complete a rare series whitewash — having missed out on the T20I equivalent earlier this month — and to win a match that is arguably their most important of the season. The team will wear black to raise awareness for GBV, an issue that continues to plague the nation.
Dercksen acknowledged that they will have to assess the conditions at Kingsmead Stadium in Durban, which will differ significantly from those at SuperSport Park in Centurion, where they secured a 16-run victory in the second ODI. Having conceded 45 extras across the opening two matches, the side is also focused on tightening up their bowling performance.
"We'll have to go there and reassess conditions again. Those will be new conditions. But I think we'll have a look at the bowling, maybe how we can tighten up in the middle a bit. I think we did well to pull this game through in the end, but we made it more difficult for us than it should have been," Dercksen said.
"Black Day is always a really special occasion for us. We'll definitely be looking to make it even more special with a win. Then going 3-0 up in a series is also something that we've spoken about. Letting that last game slip in the T20s hurt a bit, so we'll definitely be looking to go 3-0 up this time."
A major positive for the Proteas has been the consistency of the batting unit. Several players have stepped up, with Suné Luus leading from the front with back-to-back half-centuries and Dercksen herself smashing 90 in Centurion.
"We spoke about it the other day — there are different people in our batting unit putting up their hands and stepping up when the team needs it. In the past, we probably relied on our openers, and if they didn't score runs, we were in a bit of trouble," Dercksen noted.
"Now we've seen big scores from Suné, Marizanne Kapp, Chloe Tryon, and Nadine de Klerk coming in at the back end. Everyone's doing their job really well, and I think that's giving everyone the freedom to play the way they want to, knowing that there are other batters behind them who will also take responsibility."
The third and final ODI is scheduled to get underway at 10am in Durban on Sunday.