Cape Town – Trisha Chetty says South Africa will be keen to avenge past shortcomings when they meet England in their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup opener on Sunday.

Memories of facing England on the global stage are far from fond for the Proteas, having lost to them in both of their recent semi-final appearances – first at the 2014 Women’s T20 World Cup before missing out on a 50-over final to the eventual champions in 2017.

But 31-year-old Chetty, who was on the losing South African side on both occasions, believes her side are stronger than ever and will be able to enact revenge at the WACA.

“England have always had the upper hand against us,” she said.

“They’ve beaten us in two World Cup semi-finals across the two formats now so we’re determined to start the tournament on an improved note against them.

“We’ve always had a fierce rivalry in cricket and I think that will make it a fantastic first game.

“We’re managed to get our strongest line-up back up and firing and we’re really excited to show what we can do.”

And Chetty’s ambition doesn’t stop there – beating England is merely one small step for South Africa towards their goal of reaching their maiden ICC Women’s T20 World Cup final.

Success may have eluded the Proteas so far, who have failed to reach the knockout stages in five of its six editions, but Chetty is desperate to put an end to that run and write her side’s name into the history books with victory Down Under.

“We’re not here to just participate, we’re here to win the World Cup,” she added. “It’s a big event – probably the biggest event women’s cricket has ever had. We want to bring in big attendances in Australia and bring the trophy home.

“Success would be lifting the trophy at the end of the tournament. We can’t worry about what’s happening around us, we have to focus on what we’re doing.

“South African sport is on such a high now and we would love to contribute to that by bringing the trophy back with us.”

– ICC media