The Proteas Under-19 women were met with a few obstacles on their road to the World Cup final, but handled it like professionals, said coach Dinesha Devnarain. Photo: ICC
Proteas Under-19 women coach Dinesha Devnarain praised her team’s performance before and during the recent T20 World Cup in Malaysia.
“If there was one word for this team, it’s adaptability,” Devnarain said this week following their arrival back home in South Africa.
The Proteas suffered a second consecutive loss to India in a T20 World Cup final, by nine wickets, in Malaysia last Sunday, but the road to that match is where the young women found their feet.
The SA squad went through the World Cup undefeated until the title decider, and pulled off arguably one of their biggest wins after thrashing Australia in the semi-final.
In the final, they could only muster 82 runs in their 20 overs, and India knocked off the runs in just 11.2 overs.
Devnarain maintained that their World Cup performances were not an overnight success, but a result of directing attention and investment to foundational levels of women’s cricket in South Africa.
“The end was a bit unfortunate and emotional. I think you have to understand that these are young women who are still in school,” the coach said.
“But their performances and attitudes were great throughout the tournament.
“And that’s from good governance on the part of Cricket SA and good management from the get-go.
“The state of cricket we are in now, with young rising talent, is because of years of work and investment into this programme.
“I think it’s all well and good to have a vision, but there needs to be support – and that has paid off here.
“To say I am proud of this team would be an understatement.
“They are driving the brand of cricket we want to play in South Africa. There are many ways to play, but if there is one word for this team, it’s adaptability.”
The SA Under-19 side were met with a few obstacles on their road to the final, but handled it like professionals, she explained, starting with a delayed flight to Malaysia that led to them missing a warm-up match.
Malaysia’s weather did not bode well for the tournament, with barely any matches going the full 20 overs due to rain.
“We talk a lot about people before performance as part of our culture at the team, and I think what showed great character was how the ladies adapted to the situation in Malaysia from the time we landed,” Devnarain said.
“Firstly, the delayed flight cost us a warm-up game. Also, bear in mind that many of the ladies recently got their matric results, and have other things going on in their lives.
“On top of that, we could not even buy a 20-over game of cricket in Malaysia... that’s how tough conditions were.
“I think what made me very proud was how they dealt with that, and then to win the semis against Australia. I mean, at least five or six players in that team play in the WBBL.
“Here we are just a bunch of South Africans trying to make the best of it. I think the real win was the fact that the ladies were vocal about playing for their country and people back home.”
Leading her team and representing her country for the first time on the global stage, SA captain Kayla Reyneke said that singing the national anthem before every game gave her goosebumps.
Reyneke said the final loss was unfortunate, but that there were more important things to life than cricket, like going to Malaysia with a group of friends.
“I could not have asked for a better team, and management. It was an incredible campaign, and it feels great to be back home,” Reyneke said.
“Yes, it was unfortunate, but maybe it was just not God’s will for us at the time. Maybe in the future, we can try again.
“I think there’s more to life than cricket – like going to Malaysia with all the girls was a great experience.
“We got to do a cricket clinic with young locals. Malaysia is not even such a big cricketing nation, but they came anyway, and getting to teach them the basics was a special experience.”
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