After playing a key role in guiding the SA team into the nation’s first World Cup cricket final in the ODI format, Proteas women coach Mandla Mashimbyi says he has found success by creating unity within the squad.
The Proteas will face hosts India in the trophy decider at the Women’s Cricket World Cup in Mumbai on Sunday, 11 months after Mashimbyi was appointed as the head coach.
Having been widely praised by the players in the SA squad in recent months, Mashimbyi said he had focused on building trust and ensuring there was a healthy team environment.
“I’ve got a really unconventional coaching style because my philosophy always wants to speak to the person rather than the cricketer,” Mashimbyi said on Friday.
“When I came into the job the one thing that I picked up was probably the division in the team, not necessarily in a malice way, but I just thought maybe we could be better in making sure that we were more of a united front as a team.
“And there were also certain skills within certain players that I felt needed to improve for us to actually become a force.
“What was important for me was to always give them the love, care and energy and be consistent in doing that, and I think that builds trust.”
Controlling the controllables
Aiming to secure the country’s first limited overs World Cup title, Mashimbyi felt it would be crucial for the Proteas to not concentrate on the result this weekend, but rather to focus on the approach that had carried them into the final.
Should they be able to do that, as they did during their impressive victory over England in the semifinals, he believed they had the ability to end the nation’s World Cup drought.
“The excitement of playing in an ODI final is definitely going to be there, but we’ve got our processes that we follow as a team, and I think the best thing we can do is make sure we are nice and consistent and disciplined within those processes,” he said.
“Those processes are basically designed to keep us in the moment most of the time, and I know if we can control those controllables, we will give ourselves the best chance to win the match.”
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