Coach Moreeng expects more joy
THE SOUTH African women’s coach Hilton Moreeng will board the plane for Sri Lanka tomorrow morning, delighted that he has a team in form and that two key players have been reintegrated after bans for disciplinary reasons.
South Africa will participate in a qualifying tournament for the Women’s World Cup which takes place in England, and just need to finish among the top four teams to take up their spot in the June showpiece.
Fresh off a 4-1 series triumph in Bangladesh – in conditions similar to what they will face in Sri Lanka – Moreeng is pleased with where the team are from a confidence perspective and that the return of Trisha Chetty and Shabnim Ismail will only strengthen the side.
“Getting them back in has been very smooth,” Moreeng said of Ismail and Chetty’s return. The pair were suspended last November for contravening Cricket SA’s disciplinary code and missed high profile series against New Zealand and Australia.
“They add immense quality to our side. The other girls have been very happy to have them back. Even during their suspension, we’ve kept them on fitness programmes and they’ve both come back very sharp. You can see their skills, they’re what we need,” said Moreeng.
“Both are aware that playing for their country is a privilege and they’re desperate to prove themselves again.”
Dane van Niekerk’s team took plenty of lessons from series losses to New Zealand and Australia which Moreeng said they must apply when they start their campaign in Sri Lanka next Tuesday against Pakistan.
Moreeng was pleased with the consistency shown against Bangladesh recently, particularly on the batting front. Lizelle Lee, Mignon du Preez and Andrie Steyn were the outstanding contributors against Bangladesh, all three scoring over 150 runs in the series, with six half-centuries between them.
Lee was the best batter in Bangladesh scoring 268 runs at an average of 53.60. She set an example Moreeng wants the rest to follow.
South Africa have always managed to off-set their batting shortcomings with their bowling and in spinning conditions, as was the case in Bangladesh, and what the team will find in Sri Lanka, the bowling unit is ideally suited.
The teams are divided in two groups of five each for the preliminary league. Fifth-ranked India, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Zimbabwe and Thailand form Group A, while sixth-ranked South Africa, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Scotland and Papua New Guinea form Group B.
The top three sides from either group will advance to the Super Six stage while also carrying forward points they earn against sides which have progressed from their group. PLAY THE PIRATES WAY: Augusto Palacios, interim coach of Orlando Pirates, says it’s a big club and the new coach, who chairman Irvin Khoza will appoint this month, must adapt to the club’s structure and hierarchy to be successful.
AUGUSTO PALACIOS has been at Orlando Pirates for such a long time he is now part of the furniture. Apart from heading the club’s development, the Peruvian coach is chairman Irvin Khoza’s go-to-guy when the club are in a fix and need an interim coach.
Palacios took on that responsibility once again in November after Muhsin Ertugral’s abrupt resignation following the Buccaneers’ 6-1 loss to SuperSport United. The fiery Turk became the club’s fourth coach to resign from the position in five years – Julio Leal, Roger de Sa and Vladimir Vermezovic were the others. The Pirates chairman put those resignations down to the high demands that come with managing Pirates.
Khoza is set to announce the club’s next coach this month, right before the Buccaneers resume the season on Wednesday next week with a trip to Phokeng to face Platinum Stars. Milutin “Micho” Sredojevic and Giovanni Solinas have been linked with the job. Palacios was candid in his advice for the new man.
“The coach coming here mustn’t fear there is someone who wants to take his job,” Palacios said. “(I don’t want his job). People shouldn’t think when I hear news that someone else is coming to coach the team it affects me. It doesn’t. The most important thing for me, in the 22 years I spent at Pirates, is to see the team succeed. The new coach must be confident in his abilities and the technical team. He mustn’t come here to change things in the technical team or say he will change this system, this culture and this style of play. No! Pirates is one and has its own identity. Anyone who comes to Pirates mustn’t change the system but adapt to the system he will find here. He must understand that this isn’t a small club. This is a big club.”
How the next Pirates coach adapts to the club’s structure and hierarchy could define his tenure. But that won’t be the immediate problem. The biggest obstacle the new coach must overcome is to get a team that has been playing as individuals to play as a collective. That mentality infuriated Palacios to the extent he hit out at the players after their 2-1 loss to Bloemfontein Celtic in Orlando in their last match last year.
Palacios lamented the state of the current crop of players, saying they lacked character and needed to play for the badge and not just the pay cheque.
“I can only wish the next coach the best of luck, but he has a lot of work to do,” Palacios said then.
The message seemed to have hit home and Palacios says he has been impressed with the reaction he has seen from the players in pre-season.
“The players who struggled with form before the end of the year are back to their best,” he said. “Oupa Manyisa and Mpho Makola are back. I can guarantee you, when the league starts, no matter who the coach is, people will see a different Pirates.”