Johannesburg - South Africa’s short series in Ireland may not be the most exciting start to a tour, but it reflects a growth in women’s cricket that Proteas skipper, Sune Luus, believes will accelerate in the next few years.
South Africa has faced Ireland 10 times in the T20 format, winning nine of those matches, and even without some household names, will be favourites for the three match series that starts in Dublin on Friday.
But in recent weeks, Luus has seen cause for optimism as it pertains to the women’s game, following stints at the Fairbreak Invitational in Dubai and then a mini version of a women’s IPL tournament in India.
The former featured players from 35 countries, including a number of associates and even countries not regarded as cricket nations like Austria, said Luus.
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“Fairbreak had a lot of girls from associated nations, some girls were using spikes for the first time, some were playing on a turf wicket for the first time, it was a whole different experience,” remarked Luus.
Comparing the two tournaments, Luus who came out on the winning side in the final of what was termed the Women’s T20 Challenge, said the standard in the Indian competition was higher.
“You really can’t compare (Fairbreak) to India. Obviously (Indians) are fanatics of cricket, and even the domestic players can walk into a South African team. The standards were different, but overall it was good cricket.”
The Fairbreak Invitational was privately backed, and viewed as a significant step for the women’s game, given it was a stand-alone T20 franchise tournament. Luus described a lot of ‘hoo-ha’ around the women’s game at the moment, but hoped it wasn’t going to be a flicker.
“Cricket is making the case for it to become professional in more countries, including some of the associate countries. More companies and sponsors are coming on board. I get the feeling more people want to invest in women's cricket, which is phenomenal for the game.”
While the current era has produced some of the finest players in history, key to keeping sponsors interested and even attracting new ones is that the game expands to different countries and that different teams like South Africa keep evolving.
The Proteas are in Ireland without skipper Dane van Niekerk, who is still recovering from a fractured foot, Marizanne Kapp, who has respiratory problems, and Lizelle Lee, last year’s ODI player of the year, who is recovering from a similar ailment to Kapp.
That has forced the selectors hand, with Delmi Tucker, Lara Goodall and Tumi Sekhukhune getting an opportunity to establish themselves in the side ahead of some major assignments in the T20 format, that include, the Commonwealth Games at the end of July and the T20 World Cup, that will be held in South Africa next year.
“There is going to be a lot of competition in the series for the players to fight it out and to see who can get a spot going into the England series,” said Luus.
Squads
Ireland: Gaby Lewis (capt), Alana Dalzell, Rachel Delaney, Georgina Dempsey, Sarah Forbes, Shauna Kavanagh, Arlene Kelly, Sophie MacMahon, Jane Maguire, Kate McEvoy, Cara Murray, Leah Paul, Celeste Raack, Mary Waldron
South Africa: Anneke Bosch, Tazmin Brits, Trisha Chetty, Nadine de Klerk, Lara Goodall, Shabnim Ismail, Ayabonga Khaka, Sune Luus (capt), Nonkululeko Mlaba, Raisibe Ntozakhe, Tumi Sekhukhune, Andrie Steyn, Chloe Tryon, Delmi Tucker, Laura Wolvaardt
IOL Sport