Africa-Press – South-Africa. Proteas batter Lara Goodall says she has come full circle after scoring a match-winning half-century against Ireland in the second T20I on Monday.
Goodall starred for the Proteas as she scored 52 off 40 balls to help steer South Africa to a comfortable eight-wicket victory in Dublin.
The Proteas went on to level the three-match T20I series 1-1, with the decider set for Wednesday.
In 2016, Goodall made her mark on the international scene in Dublin, where she made her ODI debut against Ireland.
Six years later, Goodall returned and this time finally notched up her maiden T20I half-century in her 15th game for the Proteas.
“It’s been a long time coming. I haven’t always been one of the first names on our T20 team sheet,” Goodall told reporters following South Africa’s win.
“Speaking to the coach before this tour, we spoke about the opportunities with the T20 World Cup happening next year. I feel like I have come full circle because this is where my international career started, so to get off the mark here in these conditions, I’m very happy with that.”
Proteas had ‘a point to prove’ to take Irish T20s to decider, says Goodall
At this year’s Cricket World Cup in April, Goodall only played four ODIs, scoring 104 runs and was subsequently in and out of the starting line-up.
Goodall said that she was eager to put her hand up during this Irish tour and hoped to maintain some consistency in the middle.
“I’m taking it a game at a time. It’s been a while since I’ve gotten out of the park and played since the World Cup. I was a little bit disappointed in the World Cup. I felt like I didn’t convert a good 40s to 70s or maybe hundreds,” said Goodall.
“Now I just want to consistently get to fifties and just push on to hundreds this tour. It’s just about me getting out there and batting for as long as I can.
“I just want to take some time out in the middle and take it as an opportunity to put my hand up for the World Cup team.”
Goodall admits that she does not want to be a “one-hit wonder” and will use every opportunity to learn more and gain wisdom from an experienced Proteas dressing room.
“It’s just been a mental thing because I’ve always had the backing of the coach, who I have a good relationship with. I get a talking too when I needed it and he is also the first one to tell me well done,” said Goodall.
“I think it’s just all thanks to my work ethic and me not being afraid to make mistakes and ask questions. And just to learn from everyone else, we have world-class batters in our change room, so picking their brains and speaking to the coaches that’s really helped my game now.
“I just want to get a lot more consistent. I don’t want to be a one-hit-wonder and set up my team to win games.”
Wednesday’s final T20 is set for 17:30 SA time.
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