Photo Credit: Cricket South Africa
Team South Africa’s cricket vice-captain Chloé Tryon and head coach, Hilton Moreeng are full of excitement and intrigue as they embark on the journey of the first ever 2022 Commonwealth Games T20 Cricket event being held in Birmingham between 29 July – 07 August.
Team South Africa get their Group B campaign underway on Saturday, 30 July against New Zealand at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground before taking on England and Sri Lanka for a place in the semi-finals.
Matches will be broadcast live on SuperSport Cricket and Grandstand.
Ahead of the historic Games, Tryon and Moreeng shared their thoughts as they check into the festivities in the city of Birmingham where the challenge of a high-octane T20 competition awaits the squad.
“We are really excited,” Tryon commented. “When we heard the news that women’s cricket will be in the Commonwealth Games, we were all buzzed about it. Being Team South Africa and representing them will be fantastic.
“We are excited for the experience; the girls are eager to get out there and start playing again. We had a couple of days off to get ourselves ready and get into the Team South Africa clothes and go represent,” the all-rounder said.
Moreeng said: “The fact that it is T20 cricket, it makes it closer and makes it tough. These teams we are playing against are all dangerous. We’ve recently played England in a tour and on the back of that, we know what they are capable of. We know New Zealand has very dangerous players and even Sri Lanka is not a team you can right off.
“So, on the day in T20 cricket, you need to be on your feet and very sharp, and the good thing for us is that we have the match fitness and sharpness that will be required going into the Games. (When it comes to) preparation and making sure everyone got game time, we are very happy with that,” the coach added.
Despite going down in a three-match T20 International (T20I) against England in the United Kingdom, the Proteas Women side have enjoyed success in their recent history of tournament cricket after reaching the semi-finals in both the previous ICC Women’s T20 and 50-over Cricket World Cups in 2020 and 2022 respectively.
When assessing what the team will have to do correctly in order to reach their goals in Birmingham, Moreeng noted consistency, focus and diligent work.
“If we can fire in all disciplines that we know we can and be as consistent as we can with the bat because it is only 120 balls, anything can happen,” he began. “We need to stay in the moment, stay focused and work extremely hard because we know that opportunities are going to come in the field, our bowling unit always creates that. It’s about taking our chances.
“We know if we can give ourselves a chance to get out of the group, we can take it from there. They have played enough knockout cricket; they have been to semi-finals and they know what is required to get themselves there.
“As far as the experience and the youth we have in the squad now, it is well balanced and now it’s for them to show that we have another opportunity to push all the way.
The T20 Cricket event in Birmingham will also mark the first time women’s cricket is involved in the Commonwealth Games, while it is also the first time since Malaysia 1998 that cricket features as a sporting code in the Games that involves diverse countries within the Commonwealth from Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe, and the Pacific.
Tryon believes this event will be a notable leap forward in the growth of the women’s game and making it a truly global 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,” the 28-year old continued.
“We always said we want to leave a legacy. We want to make sure we are playing a lot of cricket, and we are growing this game as much as we can and we want people to be watching a lot of cricket as well, so we are hoping we can get the crowds as well.
“To be in this event will be fantastic and we are hoping from here onwards, we have more T20 cricket for women around the world,” she added.
Team South Africa – Women’s T20 Competition at 2022 Commonwealth Games:
Suné Luus (Captain) (Titans Ladies), Chloé Tryon (Vice-Captain) (Hollywoodbets KZN Coastal), Anneke Bosch (Senwes Dragons), Tazmin Brits (Senwes Dragons), Nadine de Klerk (Six Gun Grill Western Province), Mignon du Preez (Titans Ladies), Lara Goodall (Six Gun Grill Western Province), Shabnim Ismail (Hollywoodbets KZN Coastal), Sinalo Jafta (Six Gun Grill Western Province), Ayabonga Khaka (Imperial Lions), Masabata Klaas (Senwes Dragons), Nonkululeko Mlaba (Hollywoodbets KZN Coastal), Delmi Tucker (Six Gun Grill Western Province), Laura Wolvaardt (Six Gun Grill Western Province)
Team South Africa’s 2022 Commonwealth Games T20 Cricket Fixtures –
Saturday, 30 July @ 11h00 local time – New Zealand vs South Africa
Tuesday, 02 August @ 11h00 local time – England vs South Africa
Thursday, 04 August @ 11h00 local time – South Africa vs Ireland
Saturday, 06 August @ 11h00 local time – Semi-final 1
Saturday, 06 August @ 18h00 local time – Semi-final 2
Sunday, 07 August @ 10h00 local time –Bronze Medal
Sunday, 07 August @ 17h00 local time – Gold Medal
