Giving opportunities to multiple players, wicketkeeper Sinalo Jafta feels Proteas team management have done well to expand the national women’s squad, as they look to go unbeaten on their home tour against Ireland.
After winning the T20 International series 2-0 (the third and final game was rained out), the Proteas held a 2-0 lead in the one-day international (ODI) series ahead of the third and final fixture against Ireland at the Wanderers on Friday (1pm start).
Between the T20 and ODI series, head coach Mandla Mashimbyi had done well to test the depth of the larger national squad, resting some senior players along the way and providing chances for others.
“It’s been a while since we’ve had two different squads, and I think resting players like Marizanne (Kapp), Chloe (Tryon), Aya (Ayabonga Khaka), Masabata (Klaas) and Naids (Nadine de Klerk), and then bringing in players like Smitty (Miané Smit), Leah Jones who made her debut in the last game, and Faye Tunnicliffe who has been in and out of the squad, it’s positive for us to know that we’re actually playing with a massive squad,” Jafta said.
“The coach (Mashimbyi) said he just wants to see the players, and we’ve done that. They have picked up their hands… so it’s been brilliant.”
Proteas want to ‘dominate world cricket’
While lower-ranked Ireland were not expected to put up much of a fight, and they had been largely dominated throughout the tour, Jafta felt the Proteas were proving they had the intensity required to be global giants, even when they were facing minnows.
Having reached the final of the last three women’s World Cup tournaments (in the T20 and ODI formats), Jafta believed the Proteas were on the right track in their attempt to lift their first trophy at next year’s T20 World Cup in England and Wales.
“When he (Mashimbyi) came in he said one simple message: ‘I want to dominate world cricket’,” Jafta said.
“And I think regardless of the opposition we’re going out there with the mindset of ‘I just want to demolish and dominate’.
“I think, especially leading up to the World Cup in 2026, you want to have that mindset, and I think what he’s done is literally been a fly in our heads to say ‘you guys are literally worth it, so believe it, go out there and have fun’.”
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