Photo Credit: Cricket South Africa/SA20 League
Following the successful completion of the second SA20 U19 Women’s Camp in collaboration with Cricket South Africa, the goal to continue to expose the next generation of women’s players in South Africa to a high-performance environment is well and truly on track.
The 36-player squad spent time with some of SA’s top coaches, led by SA U19 and Women’s National Academy head coach Dinesha Devnarain and included Western Province Women’s Coach Claire Terblanche, Kruger van Wyk (Wicketkeeper Coach), and Paul Adams (Spin Coach).
Coach Devnarain reflected on the intense four-day camp, expressing satisfaction with the expanded pool of talent at her disposal as the journey to the 2025 ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup takes shape. “When assessing the camp and what we wanted to achieve, it is fair to say that our objectives have been met, which is a very good place to be.”
“We wanted it to be a ‘skill vs performance’-based camp with a balance between match time and time in the nets and we achieved that.”
“We definitely have the raw talent, so our preparation plan in the next 6-8 months will be key to ensure we take the best 15 girls to the World Cup. We are playing in the subcontinent and not many of them are used to or understand the brand of cricket. It will be important to prepare the squad for this challenge across the batting, bowling, and fielding departments.”
SA U19 player Jemma Botha highlighted the importance of these training camps in aiding the acceleration of her skillset.
“The SA20 camp really helped me quickly grow my game. I’m an attacking player, but I’ve become even more aggressive. I can now play all the shots – lap, sweep, reverse, ramp – things I could not do before these camps. The professional setup has also taught me a lot about my mental health and the mental space I am in. I’m very grateful for the last four days.”
Head of Cricket Operations at SA20, Stephen Cook, expressed his satisfaction with taking the next step in the SA20 journey to support the growth of the women’s game in South Africa.
“As SA20, we have a long-term objective to enter this space. We have a men’s tournament, and this is a way to broaden the talent pool, in the women’s space. The camp serves a dual purpose, preparing them the U19 World Cup next year and upskilling this group of players to expose them to the best coaching talent and modern trends in the T20 game.”
Former Proteas cricketer Mignon du Preez, who also attended and shared her experience with the next generation, emphasised the significance of these camps in empowering young girls: “When we grew up, there weren’t these camps available to U19s. We played for the love of the game, but now these girls can play with actual hopes of becoming a Protea, making a full-time career out of cricket and playing professionally at the domestic level in South Africa. The world is their oyster.”
“What I love about the high-performance space now, is that the various opportunities not only increase our pool of players, but they also increase our competitiveness.. Once you have better competition, the better cricketers will step up. I think in the country, that’s a very healthy space to be in,” Devnarain concluded.
SA20 U19 WOMEN’S CAMP SQUAD – APRIL 2024
Cara Bester (Western Province), Lethabo Bidli (Central Gauteng Lions), Tlotlo Bogatsu (North West), Daneli Boshoff (Boland), Iman Bonnasse (Eastern Province), Jemma Botha (Western Province), Jessica Candler (KZN Inland), Fay Cowling (Central Gauteng Lions), Jae-Leigh Filander (Western Province), Luna Gana (Eastern Province), Janicke Janse van Rensburg (Northerns), Alexia Kontopirakis (Western Province), Lerato Kotokoane (North West), Mona-Lisa Legodi (Northerns), Simone Lourens (Northerns), Karabo Lemphane (North West), Jenna-Lee Lubbe (Central Gauteng Lions), Lesedi Madisha (Northerns), Shanel Madurai (KZN Coastal), Mpumelelo Mashiloane (Eastern Storm), Neo Molefe (Central Gauteng Lions), Tshegofatso Monyela (North West), Tokologo Motsepe (Central Gauteng Lions), Shelfa Mukhari (Limpopo), Seshnie Naidu (KZN Coastal), Nthabiseng Nini (North West), Luyanda Nzuza (KZN Coastal), Diara Ramlakan (Central Gauteng Lions), Kayla Reyneke (Western Province), Leani Swanepoel (Central Gauteng Lions), Mia-Lize van der Vyver (Boland), Diedre van Rensburg (North West), Mieke van Voorst (Eastern Storm), Ashleigh van Wyk (Eastern Storm), Jane Verhage (Northerns), Sinelethu Yaso (Western Province).
