Proteas women continue to make same mistakes as coaching controversy lingers

Laura Wolvaardt refused to use the controversy about the Proteas’ coaching staff as an excuse for her team’s 3-0 T20 series defeat to Pakistan.

Pakistan wrapped up a clean sweep against the runners-up in this year’s T20 World Cup when the hosts successfully defended a target of 151, to win by six runs in Karachi on Monday night. 

The Proteas have been under a cloud after reports of dissension in the ranks with players having written a letter to Cricket SA expressing their desire for a coaching change.

Wolvaardt, who was named player of the series against Pakistan, was only appointed as interim captain for the tour to Pakistan and the home series against New Zealand later this month. Coach Hilton Moreeng, whose contract expired at the end of June, was re-signed also in an interim capacity until the end of the year. 

Cricket SA have advertised for a new coach.

“We are focusing on our cricket here,” said Wolvaardt in response to a question about the coaching situation and whether it was a distraction for the team. “We plan our meetings around the games and we were fully focused on what we needed to do to get the job done.”

All three matches were decided in the last over, with Pakistan successfully chasing 151 in the first two matches of the series before defending the same total in the last match. “They held their nerves at crucial times in all three games better than we did,” said Wolvaardt. “They stayed in their chase today better than what we did in the two games where we chased.”

Despite Wolvaardt’s efforts which saw her score 157 runs at an average of 52.33, that her strike of 124.6 was the best of the Proteas pointed to a problem that has not been resolved in the last few years. 

While the likes of Australia, England and India have adopted more aggressive strategies, particularly with the bat, the South Africans remain stuck, unable to increase their scoring rates. Pakistan, like South Africa, are playing catch-up with the big three, but their ability to rotate strike was an area in which Wolvaardt felt they were better. “We just didn’t work the ball around too much.” 

South Africa again faced too many deliveries off which they failed to score, a part of their game they have constantly talked about addressing, but have failed to do on the field. Twice in the series they absorbed more than 40 dot balls and in the second match that figure was still too high at 38.

“It was a very tough series overall,” said Wolvaardt. “It was very frustrating to come pretty close in all three games and be on the losing side all three times.

“Pakistan played well overall, they played well to their conditions, rotated strike a lot better than us and then they bowled very well.”

The two sides meet in a three-match ODI series, starting on Friday. The series counts towards the ICC Women’s Championship which will determine the automatic qualifiers for the 2025 50-over World Cup.