Johannesburg - The Commonwealth Games will provide a useful gauge for the Proteas ahead of the T20 World Cup next season, said the team’s head coach Hilton Moreeng.
Speaking on the eve of the games, which starts in Birmingham on Friday, Moreeng and the team’s vice-captain, Chloe Tryon, said excitement was high in the camp.
“It will be a good yardstick for us,” Moreeng said.
South Africa will host the women’s T20 World Cup in February next year.
“Most of these teams will be at the World Cup, so you can gauge where you are. This will allow us to assess the direction in which the game is moving, and how we need to adapt, and then we have a few months to regroup and work on those things.”
Tryon hoped that having cricket as part of a multi-format sports event, will further accelerate the growth of the sport.
“We always want to grow the women’s game. We want more cricket being played. Having the Commonwealth Games will be big for us,” she said.
“We are all really buzzed about it, representing team SA is very exciting.”
Tryon explained that she was looking forward to engaging with athletes from other sporting codes.
“I’m a very outgoing person and to be meeting all these different athletes, getting to know their stories, background and their culture, is great. I’m really excited to experience it. We’d like to win a gold medal, but also meet others from outside of (cricket).”
The Commonwealth Games will feature cricket for the first time since 1998, when South African won the gold medal in a 50-over men’s competition.
This year, an eight-team T20, women’s competition will highlight the growth of the sport, with the International Cricket Council hoping it will be enough to impress the International Olympic Committee with an eye on having cricket competition as part of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
South Africa opens its campaign in the Games, against New Zealand at Edgbaston on Saturday.
IOL Sport