by Linsey Smith believes England will have to give their best to beat South Africa on Monday in their second Women’s T20 World Cup match.
Slow left-arm bowler Smith was in impressive form as England opened the tournament with a 21-run win over Bangladesh on Saturday, taking two wickets for 11 runs.
Monday’s encounter will bring back painful memories for England of the 2023 T20 World Cup, when they lost by six wickets to hosts South Africa in the semi-final.
Smith said: “There’s obviously been a lot of talk about this game. I think the girls learned a lot from it.
“We just can’t wait to face them again in the World Cup. Obviously they had a really good win the other day and we’re going to have to be at our best again to take the fight to them and hopefully get another win.
South Africa beat West Indies by 10 wickets in their opening match in Dubai, while Monday’s match will take place in Sharjah, where England take on Bangladesh on a slow pitch.
“I think obviously Bangladesh showed that the way they were playing slowed the pace down a lot and the boundaries were really hard to come by,” Smith said.
“We knew it was obviously quite slow and low and we were just trying to keep the stumps in play and put pressure on them that way.”
Smith, the Sussex and Northern Superchargers player, last appeared at a T20 World Cup for England in the West Indies in 2018 and is relishing her chance to resurrect her international career.
She added: “It was obviously six years ago now I think, so a long time. I took some time away from the English set-up, which I think just helped me grow, do a lot of introspection and think about what I wanted to be and how I wanted to be. play the game.
“It was difficult, but I knew I always wanted to get back in an England shirt and do myself some justice.
“I felt like I didn’t play very well six years ago, so it was obviously nice to have another chance to do that at a World Cup.”
