‘SA Women are ready to bloom’
NEXT STEP: NEW DEAL TO TAKE WOMEN’S PROTEAS FORWARD
Ken Borland
Like any good farmer who has planted his vegetables, cared for them carefully and patiently and then waits for a rich harvest, Hilton Moreeng believes the Proteas Women’s side is now ready to blossom as he begins another three-year stint in charge of the team.
Moreeng’s reappointment was confirmed yesterday, allowing the 42-year-old to continue the fine work he has done since 2012 in building a squad of talented youngsters into one of the best international teams. Under the former Free State wicketkeeper/ batsman’s guidance, the Proteas reached the semifinals of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2014 and 2020 and the ICC Women’s World Cup in 2017. And in those last two final-four appearances they have come perilously close to beating both England and Australia, the powerhouses of the women’s game.
“It’s a great privilege for me to be reappointed, it shows the confidence Cricket South Africa (CSA) has in the work I’ve done. This team is coming of age and it’s time we started challenging for ICC silverware. I hope to improve the team further and as a coach I am learning every day and no two days are alike. We want to be a top-three team and we are making strides towards that.
“But we cannot be complacent because the international cricket environment changes every day and we have to keep working extremely hard. But the building blocks are very good and in terms of skills we are now one of the best teams. We’ve had to be very patient, we want to be number one in the world, that’s everyone’s ambition but it doesn’t happen overnight,” Moreeng said yesterday.
The Proteas Women’s first assignment once they return to action will hopefully be a triangular series in England with India in September, but the 50-over World Cup in New Zealand starting next February is their priority in the short-term.
“We knew our tour of New Zealand earlier this year would be crucial in our preparation and whitewashing them on home soil shows our skills and character. Now we are seven months from the World Cup and we will focus on that. But it will be a very important series in England because it might be our only chance for competitive cricket before the World Cup,” Moreeng said.
Part of that is investigating the feasibility of a professional domestic women’s league. But in the meantime CSA are focusing on the women’s high performance and academy programmes.
“We believe the Proteas can now challenge the top three regularly and the results in New Zealand and Australia show the top leadership of Hilton and Dane van Niekerk [captain]. It’s very important to CSA that this team moves forward over the next three years,” said CSA’s director of cricket Graeme Smith.