Calls for Proteas Women to play more Test cricket

The conversation about the need for Cricket SA to organise more Test cricket for the Proteas Women if they are to improve was brought to light again after their 286-run defeat against England at the Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein this week.

The loss added to the unimpressive statistic of the Proteas Women not winning a Test since 2007.

The blame can be apportioned to the lack of action the team have endured across the format.

The Proteas played three Tests in 2024 — the first time they have played more than two four-day games in a year since 1972 — but they lost all three contests.

While SA has seen an inferior number of games in the longer format, other countries have played many more.

Hopefully, the signs were not ignored when SA collapsed to 64 all out in their second innings against England, the team’s lowest innings in a Test match.

Head coach Mandla Mashimbyi drew on the positives that the team could develop if afforded more opportunities.

The ticked boxes included Laura Wolvaardt, Sune Luus and Marizanne Kapp all scoring half-centuries in their first innings, and spin bowler Nonkululeko Mlaba returning career-best figures of 10/157.

“I will make sure we expose our players to more red-ball stuff by playing two-day matches within our camps, just to give them this type of exposure so they can understand their games a bit better,” Mashimbyi said.

“The other decisions will have to come from the powers above, but in terms of me preparing my team, it’s something we’re going to have to look into.”

“You saw the players in terms of how they went about their business from a batting point of view.

“There were a lot of improvements in how they conducted themselves throughout.

“Obviously, we don’t want to speak about the last innings. The first innings was enough for me to say there was something to work with,” he said.

With no further Test matches planned for 2025, Mashimbyi said they would need to explore alternative methods to help the Proteas Women enhance their skills in the red-ball format.

“We obviously have to be intentional as to how we prepare.

“If we know we are going to be involved in a Test match, that’s something we have to expose our players to beforehand so they kind of know what to expect and how to deal with it,” Mashimbyi said.

“The learning we took from the England game ... we will make sure it won’t be lost.

“This is something that I’m passionate about and I do urge people to accept that red-ball cricket will be the vehicle they need [to focus on] to improve their cricket,” he said.

SA captain Wolvaardt said the loss was hard to swallow.

She also pleaded for more Test cricket, saying there was only so much one could do in the nets.