What time does Proteas v Australia ICC T20 World Cup final start?

The Proteas Women will look to unite the nation with a win over Australia in the T20 World Cup final at a sold-out Newlands on Sunday.

Ahead of an enthralling and historic occasion in the country’s rich cricketing history, Proteas Women’s captain Suné Luus as well as head coach Hilton Moreeng are eagerly awaiting their date with destiny in the Women’s T20 World Cup final against Australia taking place on Sunday in Cape Town.

The T20 World Cup final gets underway from 15:00 in front of what is expected to be a sold-out Newlands crowd.

ALSO READ: Tazmin Brits – From shattered Olympic dreams to World Cup hero

In the pre-match press conference prior to the monumental day for South African cricket, Luus highlighted the significance of hosting the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup on home soil, including the impact success in the tournament will and has had on the women’s game within the country.

“It’s been an amazing tournament so far, on and off the field,” the skipper noted.

“As far as cricket is concerned, we are achieving our goals that we wanted so that is awesome to see. Off the field, I think we are also doing the job that we wanted to do; the goal for us was to inspire a nation and to get women’s cricket in South Africa on the map, and for young girls and boys to pick up a bat and ball.

“In terms of that, we are definitely doing the job and hopefully tomorrow can be another stepping stone towards that,” Luus added.

ALSO READ: Proteas skipper Sune Luus believes the trophy is in reach

Under the tutelage of coach Moreeng, spanning more than 10 years, the Proteas Women have undertaken an extensive, lesson-filled journey towards reaching a first ever World Cup final for a South African team, in men or women’s cricket.

Over the course of his decade-long tenure, Moreeng has overseen multiple semi-final appearances, beginning with the T20 World Cup in 2014 in which South Africa lost out to England in Bangladesh. That preceded a semi-final showing in the 50-over competition in England, which was followed up by final four finishes in 2020 (T20 World Cup in Australia) and 2022 (50-over World Cup in New Zealand).

Having experienced numerous semi-final heartbreaks in the past, Moreeng believes his side have taken on the lessons brought by those knockout defeats and that Friday’s maiden six run, semi-final victory over England was long overdue.

“I can’t pre-empt what is going to happen next but it has been a long and tough journey,” the coach stated. “The girls have grown and the team has grown in stature with every competition and opportunity they had to play and they have shown the character that we knew they always had.”

ALSO READ: How the Proteas beat England to reach T20 World Cup final

PROTEAS WOMEN EXPECTED LINE-UP

Tazmin Brits, Laura Wolvaardt, Marizanne Kapp, Suné Luus (captain), Chloe Tryon, Anneke Bosch, Nadine de Klerk, Sinalo Jafta (wicketkeeper), Shabnim Ismail, Ayabonga Khaka, Nonkululekho Mlaba

ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023

Sunday, 26 February

Final: South Africa v Australia, Newlands, Cape Town – 15:00