Youngster Miane Smit excited to get first taste of senior Women's World Cup
MIANE SMIT Proteas youngster Miane Smit celebrates her half-century in the third T20I against West Indies. Picture: Supplied
Image: Supplied
Proteas women’s all-rounder Miane Smit, 20, is excited to get her first taste of a senior women’s World Cup following her inclusion as the travelling reserve in the Proteas women’s squad for the upcoming ICC Women’s World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.
The youngster earned her debut national cap earlier this year and has since played a total of five international matches across the ODI and T20I formats.
During her debut in Sri Lanka, she blasted a composed 39 against a strong India women's team and followed up that knock with a classy, unbeaten half-century against a star-studded West Indies women's team a month later.
Her inclusion in the squad paints a vivid picture of the talent that head coach Mandla Mashimbyi sees in her as a future star for South Africa.
The 20-year-old feels she has been welcomed as a member of the team and is excited to get her first experience of the showpiece event
“I’ve really had a good experience with the team. It was so awesome finally making my debut. My experience with the team has been good, and I've grown a lot on and off the field. On the field, we've up-skilled a lot, and off the field, I’ve grown more comfortable in the team. So, I believe you can be more yourself and you get accepted for that,” Miane said.
“(With being in the World Cup) I’m really excited to see how the girls approach the 50-over World Cup, the longer format of the game, and I'm excited to see how we perform and what we achieve. I think it's going to be (great cricket on display and I'm very excited for them.”
The Proteas women's squad is set to depart for Pakistan on Thursday for a three-match ODI series before the opening fixture of the World Cup gets underway on 30 September.