Du Preez compares Sune Luus to Australian great Warne

Commenting on Sune Luus’ five-wicket haul for eight runs against Ireland, Du Preez said she expects better performance from her at the Chinnaswamy stadium tomorrow.

Published : Mar 25, 2016 19:14 IST , Bengaluru

Sune Luus (centre) of South africa celebrate the wicket of Lucy O' Reilly of Ireland in the ICC World Twenty20 match at M.A.Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Wednesday.
Sune Luus (centre) of South africa celebrate the wicket of Lucy O' Reilly of Ireland in the ICC World Twenty20 match at M.A.Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Wednesday.
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Sune Luus (centre) of South africa celebrate the wicket of Lucy O' Reilly of Ireland in the ICC World Twenty20 match at M.A.Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Wednesday.

South African captain Mignon du Preez today compared leg-break bowler Sune Luus to Australian spin great Shane Warne.

“Luus probably can be likened to Shane Warne as she is a leg-break bowler like Shane Ware — in fact she had an opportunity to meet him before the last World Cup. She had a chance to sit down and chat with him. She has come a long way, and I would think Shane Warne is probably one of her favourite cricketer as well,” Du Preez told reporters on the eve of South Africa’s match against New Zealand in the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 Group B match.

Commenting on Sune Luus’ five-wicket haul for eight runs against Ireland, Du Preez said she expects better performance from her at the Chinnaswamy stadium tomorrow.

“There is still lot of time to know the conditions here. Our past experience about Indian pitches is that it favours spin. It feels good Luus came up with a five-wicket haul performance. I expect better performance from her on this (Bengaluru) strip also,” she said.

Asked about New Zealand’s unbeaten run so far in the tournament, Du Preez said her team is more focused on executing its own plans tomorrow.

“We will execute our plan and will not worry much about it,” she said.

Asked if she is expecting a spin battle here tomorrow, Du Preez said the pitch looks good for batting, but the team would decide on its composition after a look at the pitch.

“It will not necessarily be a battle between spinners. The pitch looks good for batting. We probably got the strongest seam attack in the world. We will look at the wicket and then decide whether to go for pace or spinners. New Zealand also rely more on their seam attack,” she said.

Earlier, New Zealand women’s captain Suzie Bates said her team is ready to face any side in the semi-finals.

“Pakistan has been performing well, except they lost to West Indies in their first encounter. However they have two wins and England has won all their matches and are table-toppers. They had a couple of very close games against India and West Indies. That group (B) is looking strong. Also, India and Australia have a chance to sneak in,” she said.

Asked whether New Zealand will test its bench strength as it had already qualified for the semi-finals, Bates said, “We will take this match seriously because we have not yet been guaranteed a semi-final berth.”

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