Dutch skipper Helmien Rambaldo was delighted to get her side’s ICC Women's World Cup Qualifier campaign off to a winning start as they defeated Papua New Guinea by 8 wickets.

After reducing their opponents to 102 all out, with PNG captain Kune Amini top scoring with a patient 32 off 65 balls, the Netherlands knocked off their target with 21.4 overs to spare.

“It was a good win and we were very pleased with the game today. We bowled well and we batted well so we are very happy” said Rambaldo.

Having travelled to South Africa from cold conditions back at home, the Netherlands’ batters had a chance to spend some valuable time in the middle with De Beest (34*), Wattenberg (20*) and Rambaldo (17) all making contributions.

Rambaldo also paid tribute to her opponents who were playing their first ever competitive game on a turf wicket.

“I think they did well. They were really trying to score runs and we’re all very impressed with their bowling side. They have good pace bowling.”

As for PNG, Amini was happy with their start to the campaign.

“We’ve never played on turf before so we tried our best and got some runs” she said. “It was a good experience and we want to improve in the next couple of games.”