JOHANNESBURG - It’s been a very good two weeks for the South African Women's team over at the World Cup Qualifier tournament in Sri Lanka.
The group stages were a breeze as many had expected. Dane van Niekerk’s side have played plenty of quality opposition in the last year, most notably New Zealand and Australia, which stood them in good stead for the tournament in Sri Lanka where the top four sides, ie the semi-finalists, will qualify for the World Cup.
Van Niekerk and coach Hilton Moreeng would have liked to have wrapped up qualification without the need to travel to Sri Lanka but that was not to be owing to series losses against the Kiwis and Aussies.
However, that shouldn’t be too much of a bother. Series’ against those two countries were vital in toughening up the side, especially the younger members and exposing them to a higher standard of play than what they got from Papua New Guinea, Scotland and Bangladesh during this tournament.
The Women's team has made gradual strides in recent years, the highlight of which was their run to the semi-finals of the World T20 in Bangladesh in 2014. Two years later, they felt they let themselves down in not being able to match that achievement in India. Elsewhere, there’s been improvement, particularly in 50-over clashes against England - against whom they won a match for the first time last season - and the West Indies, against whom they lost a three match series 2-1.
Van Niekerk and Moreeng have never hesitated in highlighting where the main problem is for the national side - consistency with the bat. However, that can only be resolved by playing constantly and in that regard former skipper Mignon du Preez and Van Niekerk have stated that the team has had no reason to complain. They’ve had a lot of matches recently, a seven game series against New Zealand, five ODIs in Australia and another five match series in Bangladesh.
Those experiences and the exposure to better opponents and conditions are exactly what the players need as they seek to qualify for the World Cup.
The core of experienced players is now greater, too, and in the case of Van Niekerk and Marizanne Kapp their experience stretches beyond the international arena, but to the Women's Big Bash T20 league in Australia where the pair were key components of the title winning Sydney Sixers team. Du Preez’s taken to her new role of senior pro excellently, while the return of Trish Chetty and Shabnim Ismael, following their suspension for breaking the team’s disciplinary code - lends class in crucial areas of the team.
There’s a lot that still needs to be improved - Moreeng and Van Niekerk will beat the drum of “consistency with the bat” until they’re blue in the face - but there’s no doubt there’s a lot to look forward to with the SA women’s team.