The Cricket South Africa (CSA) annual senior women coaches’ conference is underway in Magaliesburg.
Themed “Lead the Change”, the conference attracted coaches across Division 1 and Division 2 teams to pave the way for the enriched South African women’s cricket fraternity.
With South Africa hosting the inaugural ICC U19 Women’s T20 and the eighth ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, the conference looks at the current state of the national teams and strategies leading to the major events on home soil.
The gathering is tackling all aspects leading to the enhancement of the women’s cricket set-up, including the Momentum Proteas, the Girls Talent Acceleration Programme, and the development of teams in the domestic scene.
CSA Independent Director and the Chairperson of the Local Organising Committee Advisory Board (LOCAB) for the two World Cups, Ms Muditambi Ravele, was present and shared her views on the women’s pipeline and the legacy the two events will leave behind.
“CSA is intentional in ensuring a strengthened, competitive and an enduring women’s cricket force. To achieve equity in this space, we are single-minded in pulling all our resources and energies together in ensuring that buddying women’s talent that abounds in all corners of the country is nurtured and escalated to international stardom,” said Ms Ravele.
“What we do for the empowerment of women’s cricket today should reverberate in the corridors of history for decades to come. This is the legacy that we owe to the next generation of women cricketers,” she concluded.
The CSA Coaching Education Manager, Gift Mathe, also commented on the first coaches conference for the senior provincial coaches.
“The performance of the Momentum Proteas at the 2022 ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in Christchurch, New Zealand earlier this year was instrumental in the CSA Cricket Services team deciding to have a coaches’ conference that seeks to look at addressing senior provincial women’s cricket coaching needs in the country.
“Coaching is a catalyst to developing world class Proteas, and this is the first of many steps for us and we will continue to support the development of our senior coaches,” said Mathe.
Leading the change from the front, SA U19 Women’s Head Coad, Dinesha Devnarain, commented on the pivotal role the domestic coaches must play in developing the game.
“This year’s conference is of utmost importance as we prepare for the upcoming World Cups to be held in SA.
“We are identifying the gaps in the system on the depth of our pipeline and create synergy between the two national teams,” said Devnarain.
“It is up to us to develop the specific brand of play that we want. This also allows us to share the knowledge with our provincial coaches to adopt and lead the change.
“Our aim is to produce high-calibre players who will be able to represent the country well on the international stage, and all-round individuals that will lead this country forward,” Devnarain concluded.
Banyana Banyana Head Coach, Desiree Ellis, is also present at the conference as the guest speaker, sharing her knowledge as the African champion.
Name of Author: Cricket South Africa
Cricket South Africa (CSA) governs cricket in South Africa. Formed in 2002, it succeeded the United Cricket Board of South Africa (UCB) and became the sole governing body in 2008. CSA oversees all levels of cricket, including national teams for men and women, and is a full ICC member and SASCOC affiliate.
