Sune Luus sought to persuade herself, her team and the country that the Proteas are enjoying this T20 World Cup and will enjoy the semifinal against England at Newlands on Friday. It’s been hard to tell if the players actually have. This has been a tournament like no other for the generation of Proteas who have elevated the women’s game in this country. They have been in the spotlight like never before at an ICC event. “We 100% are enjoying the tournament. Being at home, with the crowd especially, they’ve been pushing us to keep going and to keep enjoying it. Seeing all the people in the crowd has been very cool,” Luus said on Wednesday. It’s one thing qualifying for the World Cup semifinals in New Zealand, as they did in the 50-over tournament last year, but then they were 11 time zones away and detached from the hype. It hits differently when you’re at home, however, your faces on the posters dotted around Cape Town, people phoning for tickets and the ICC actually needing the host nation to qualify so that interest in the competition is maintained for as long as possible. The players, to a woman, have explained how much they’ve been surprised, pleasantly so, by the support they have received at the three venues, with the ICC releasing figures on Thursday praising the record crowds for a women’s sports event in this country. More than 40,000 spectators attended the matches in Gqeberha, Paarl and Cape Town. It obviously gives the players a lift but also builds expectation and pressure. The Proteas did not deal with it well in the group stages, losing to Sri Lanka then taking a big chunk of Tuesday night’s must-win final group match against Bangladesh to find their feet and finally relax. “Of course we’ve enjoyed it. If you don’t enjoy what you are doing, I don’t see a reason to do it,” Luus stated. However, she betrayed herself a short while later in answering a question about close mate and opener Laura Wolvaardt. Asked about the importance of Wolvaardt’s half-century against Bangladesh, her most assured performance in the tournament, Luus provided a brief insight into the pressure on Wolvaardt and the team. “That innings was crucial for her just to remind her that she still can play cricket. She’s been contemplating her whole career in the last few weeks,” said Luus. Wolvaardt has looked as if she was carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders until the latter stages of her innings on Tuesday night. She admitted afterwards that perhaps she’s had too many voices in her head the past few weeks. Whether that innings does help her turn the corner will only be revealed on Friday, but the Proteas can be sure England will remind them of all the expectations. “The pressure is all on South Africa,” said England’s opener Danni Wyatt. “It’s a home World Cup for them. ” South Africa have not yet played their best match. The batting has looked flaky, and even in that 10-wicket win on Tuesday, the fielding was also sloppy against Bangladesh and the bowlers have had to carry a heavy load to keep the team in matches. Having failed in each of their four previous World Cup semifinal appearances, the Proteas are accustomed to disappointment. “I guess our record in semifinals means there’s no pressure on us. We can just go out there, play freely and enjoy the moment,” Luus said. “We have been on the other side [of the outcome, losing] too many times, and know exactly what it feels like. In our team meeting [on Thursday] the girls were saying, ‘We know what it feels like and don’t want to be there again,’ so there is enough motivation for us to go there, play our best cricket and enjoy the moment. ” Enjoying the game, it appears, is almost as important a part of the game plan as taking wickets, scoring runs and holding on to their catches. .