IRE-W v SA-W | Sune Luus praises youngsters after series win over Ireland

The South African women came back from a 0-1 deficit to clinch the three-T20I series against the Irish women. A dominating showing ensured the Sune Luus-led side won the third and final match of the series last evening in Dublin to clinch the series 2-1 over Ireland.

Skipper Luus was most impressed with the youngsters in the squad, who put up their hands in the absence of players like Marizanne Kapp, Dane van Niekerk, Mignon du Preez, and Lizelle Lee, who will be part of the Commonwealth Games.

Luus specifically praised the trio of Lara Goodall, Tumi Sekhukhune, and Nadine de Klerk. Goodall ended up with 100 runs in the series, while Sekhkhune and De Klerk claimed 8 and 5 wickets each. 

Talking to iol.co.za, Luus said, "They took responsibility. Normally there's big names on the field but we had none of those players, the way they took responsibility was fantastic to see,"

"Whatever eleven we put on the field we must believe in them, because the reality is, people are getting older, we are not going to have them around forever and we have to get used to having a younger squad with younger players coming through."

Luus talked about Sekhukhune's show with the ball, who was the leading wicket-taker in the series. 

"Tumi sees it as a big opportunity to put up her hand. She saw it as the chance to take the game forward, be the strike bowlers and container," the skipper explained.

Both teams will now clash in a three-match One-Day International (ODI) series that will be part of the 2025 Women's World Cup qualification cycle. The top five teams go ahead in the main competition.

Despite the T20Is win, Luus said that her side must not get complacent and look to improve even more.

"I'd like to see everyone have a good time in the field. We used to be so scared, we didn't want to attack the ball or put our bodies on the line, but with a group of youngsters, that thing can easily be fixed. The enjoyment factor around fielding is something we must improve because if you enjoy fielding then automatically the performance starts showing," the 26-year-old concluded.

The first ODI will take place at Castle Avenue in Dublin starting June 11.