Cricket South Africa director of national teams and high performance Enoch Nkweâs bid to unveil the next Proteas Womenâs coach has hit a road bump after interim coach Dillon du Preez ruled himself out of contention.
Du Preez, who is the teamâs full-time bowling coach, performed the stand-in role admirably since being elevated after long-serving head coach Hilton Moreengâs departure to the US in June.
The former Free State all-rounder has since followed in Moreengâs footsteps by guiding the Proteas Women to the T20 World Cup final in the UAE recently.
However, the 42-year-old feels that he is able to serve the national team best in his role as bowling coach.
âHe (Du Preez) enjoys working with the bowlers, and assisting the head coach. Obviously that didnât help, but he is fully committed to moving forward with the team and supporting whoever comes in,â Nkwe exclusively told Independent Newspapers.
Nkwe has since reopened the recruitment process, and has now streamlined it to three candidates, who will be interviewed over the course of next week.
Former Proteas spin bowler and Cape Cobras coach Paul Adams is, however, also not in contention, despite proving to be a hugely popular addition to the teamâs support staff at the T20 World Cup.
Adams is currently Cricket SAâs spin bowling lead and assisted the Proteas in the UAE.
However, âGoggaâ proved to be much more than just a spin-bowling coach, as his motivational talks in the huddle before each match proved to be hugely inspirational.
âOf course Paul is our spin lead, who works with all our national teams. He is loving working with the spinners. I havenât seen that level of passion in a long time,â Nkwe said.
âObviously being a head coach before, from a strategic point of view, he does add plenty of value. But Paul is happy in the space that he is in at the moment.â
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â Proteas Women (@ProteasWomenCSA) October 20, 2024
FOR ME. FOR HER. FOR THEM. FOR ALL. FOR SOUTH AFRICA. FOR THE PROTEAS đđ#WozaNawe #BePartOfIt #WhateverItTakes pic.twitter.com/hy9zoYcI7J
The Proteasâ next assignment will be hosting England in an all-format tour that starts at the end of the month.
Three T20Is will kick-start the tour, before moving into three ODIs and a one-off Test.
Nkwe is hoping to name the new head coach by the time the ODI series begins, at least.
âThatâs what we are pushing for. Especially the ODI series, not necessarily the T20I series, because whoever the person is going to take over, the person is going to be buying into our blueprint and our strategy from a Proteas level down to our domestic (cricket),â he said.
âWe are looking for someone that can fit into the South African cricket system moving forward. I am not too concerned about whether the person starts with the T20Is or the ODI series.
âThe strategy is there for âRoad to World Cup 2025â. It is just a matter of tweaking a few things. The biggest thing for me is finding the right fit to take this team forward and aligning with our strategies.â
Nkwe also stressed about wanting to bring stability to the Proteas Women team, especially with the ICC Womenâs Future Tours Programme (FTP) being released this week that will see South Africa host a series of high-profile fixtures against top-tier opponents including India, Australia, Pakistan and the West Indies.
The South Africans will also embark on challenging tours to England, New Zealand, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.
âIt is great for womenâs cricket in general. We will continue to look for more opportunities to increase the womenâs content,â Nkwe said.
âIt is great that there is a four-year commitment. It does play a role in a situation where you are appointing your coach for a period of time. I would like to see a lot more stability when it comes to the womenâs team.
âWhoever is going to take over, itâs great that you can now plan for the next four years.
âAt least, the technical team you saw in Dubai, they have all been appointed on three-year contracts.â