Proteas brace for date with World Cup destiny: 'Our goal was to inspire a nation'

Win or lose in Sunday's T20 World Cup final against Australia at Newlands, the Proteas women have achieved their goal of inspiring a nation and putting women's sport on the South African map.

That was the overwhelming message from skipper Sune Luus at her pre-match press conference on Saturday.

The Proteas, inconsistent in the competition's group stages, were given no chance against England in Friday's semi-final at the same venue.

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Yet, after a spirited performance of grit, determination and fearlessness, they emerged as six-run victors to punch their ticket to a tournament decider for the first time in South African cricket history.

The tears at the end of the match showed just how much this moment meant, while the reaction from the South African public has broken new barriers.

Hundreds queued outside Newlands on Saturday morning in a desperate attempt to purchase tickets. They will be sold out.

"It's been an amazing tournament so far, on and off the field. As far as cricket is concerned, we're achieving the goals that we want to, and that's awesome to see," Luus told media.

"Off the field, we're also doing the job we wanted to do. The goal for us was to inspire a nation and get women's cricket in South Africa on the map. We wanted to get young girls and boys in South Africa to pick up a bat, and we wanted women's sport in South Africa in general to be raised as well.

"In terms of that, we're definitely doing the job. Hopefully, tomorrow will be another step towards that."

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Luus acknowledged that the emotions of the achievement were overwhelming but spoke to the importance of