'We could've done better,' Tryon says of Oz defeat, as SA set sights on Windies

SA vice-captain Chloe Tryon said the team will pick up the pieces from their five-wicket defeat by favourites Australia, as they aim to bounce back against West Indies on Thursday with a win that will secure them a place in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup semifinals.

The Momentum Proteas fought tooth and nail against the six-time world champions but lost their first match at Basin Reserve in Wellington on Tuesday after a four-match winning spree.

“Australia is a quality side and we can’t take that away from them,” said Tryon, who contributed with two wickets and 17 not out.

“They are the number one-ranked team in the world for a reason. We needed to be at our best and we were not in the second half of the match.”

SA let themselves down with poor fielding,  dropping several regulation catches, but Tryon admitted Australia were also superior in all aspects.

“We could have done better in the field and backed up the bowlers. There were too many dropped catches,” said 32-year-old, Durban-born Tryon. “We’ll just have to reflect on this and bounce back.”

Australia are unbeaten at the top of the log and have already qualified for the semifinals on 12 points from six wins out of six matches.

SA are second on eight points from four wins and a defeat, and will join the Aussies in the semis with a win against West Indies on Thursday.

India and West Indies have six points apiece and are third and fourth respectively.

Holders England, in fifth place on four points from five matches, have an outside chance at the semis and so do hosts New Zealand, who are languishing in sixth position also with four points from six outings.

The Women's Cricket World Cup is played in a league format, where all eight teams will play each other once. The top four teams qualify for the semifinals.

SA will be confident of a win against West Indies after they won a five-match ODI series in the Caribbean in September last year 4-1, and triumphed 2-1 in a four-match series in Johannesburg last month in their last competitive outing before the World Cup.

“We know they are a dangerous team and we won’t take them lightly. We just have to make sure that we are on our best game,” Tryon said.

SA will conclude their pool stages action against India on Sunday and may encounter Australia again in the semis or final.