Dubai, Feb 20 (Cricket News) South Africa are determined to make the upcoming ICC Women's ODI World Cup a memorable one and will take every match as final in their bid to claim their maiden title, said all-rounder Sune Luus. South Africa have never won the title and lost by two wickets to eventual winners England in the semifinals in the last edition in 2017.

"After a long wait, the World Cup is finally here. We as a team have been preparing for the last five years, since the 2017 World Cup in England where we fell short in the semi-finals," Luus wrote in a column for the ICC.

"Every match will be played like final, therefore it is imperative that we only focus on what we do best and what we can control. In our previous series, this is what worked best for us. We tried to do the basics as best as we could, and the result took care of itself." The 26-year-old Luus said the team's main goal is to shed the "underdogs" tag that has been haunting the Protea women for long.

"We have always been seen as underdogs, but we have shown in the past few years that we are a team to be reckoned with. We have shown consistent performances in difficult countries like India and the West Indies. We as a team also had a great T20 World Cup two years ago in Australia and turned some heads," she said.

"I hope we do the same this year, and hopefully reach that final that we’ve been missing out on, on three different occasions." On current form, South Africa have a good chance in the marquee event to be held in New Zealand from March 4 to April 3.

"In our preparation, we have tried many combinations to find the right fit for this World Cup. We are confident that whoever walks out onto the park on the day can do the job for us," said Luus.

"We have a strong squad with a combination of experienced players and a couple of players who will be making their World Cup debut. This is very exciting for us as a team.

"We are coming off an extremely good year, and I know that the teams’ confidence is high." 

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News Source : PTI