Proteas in final push to victory

WHEN Proteas all-rounder Chloe Tryon takes to the field against India on Sunday, she won’t just be playing for South Africa; she’ll be carrying the hopes of 600 Scottburgh High School pupils and an entire nation.

Tryon and her teammates have driven South Africa to its first ICC Women’s World Cup final. They’ll be up against India in Navi Mumbai and, despite the opposition’s home-ground advantage, Proteas fans know they stand a winning chance.

One of their most ardent supporters is Strini Pillay, Tryon’s former cricket coach and the deputy principal at Scottburgh High School. Brimming with pride this week, he said that since the time he saw her in action as a teenager, he “had no doubt” she would make it to the top of the game.

Tryon was so good, said Pillay, that she was placed in the boys’ cricket team, and players from other schools always relished the chance to face her and see how far she would go in a match. Surprisingly, though, Pillay thought Tryon might have a career in football, another sport in which she excelled.

“In Grade 9, she actually played for the boys’ first team. When we sent her for selection for the under-15 KZN team, she came back and said they recommended her for the under-17 team, even though she was a junior. So, you can see that her abilities were quite good at that stage. And then not too long after, she played for KZN under-19, and she joined the Dolphins team. So, the sky was the limit there.”

Shortly after they made it through to the final, Tryon’s Facebook post showed that she was listening to Malaika’s song Destiny, with its rather fitting line: “I can feel it, I can feel the magic.”

Tryon will be joined by her KZN teammates Nondumiso Shangase and Nonkululeko Mlaba, both from the Lindelani area and whose journey to the top is a story of resilience, belief, and the power of community.

Under head coach Mandla Mashimbyi, the Proteas have rewritten history, uniting a nation behind them, including the men’s Proteas team. Skipper Temba Bavuma has sent the women a powerful message of support.

“I think it would add so much to South Africa’s story, both from a cricketing and sporting point of view,” said Bavuma. “As a country, we’ve really been doing well, and seeing the women reach this point would only strengthen our legacy. It would show again that we are truly champions of the world. There’s no pressure on the ladies — we’ll be right behind them, supporting them all the way. We just want them to be part of history.”

Although barely a year into the job, Mashimbyi has done what no South African coach – male or female – has achieved before: guiding the Proteas Women to a 50-over Cricket World Cup final. His tenure has been defined not just by tactical acumen but by emotional intelligence and a renewed focus on unity.

“My philosophy speaks to the person rather than the cricketer,” Mashimbyi said. "When I came into the job, the one thing that I picked up was the division that was within the team, not necessarily in a malicious way, but I just thought maybe we could be better in making sure that we are more of a united front as a team,” Mashimbyi told the media yesterday.   

“What's important for me was just to always give them the love, always give them the care, the energy and be consistent in doing that. I think that builds trust."

Senior all-rounder Marizanne Kapp, who starred in the semi-final against England, praised her coach’s human touch as evidence of how Mashimbyi’s “care factor” has transformed the dressing room into a family.

The Proteas’ achievement has become a rallying point for a remarkable year in South African women’s sport – a year defined by courage, connection, and continental dominance across multiple codes.

The Springbok Women wrote a new chapter in South African rugby history at the 2025 Rugby World Cup, announcing the awakening of a ‘sleeping giant’. Entering the tournament ranked outside the top 10, the Boks defied expectations with fearless physical performances as coach Swys de Bruin’s charges advanced beyond the pool stages for the first time. While they eventually succumbed to a 46-17 defeat to New Zealand in their quarter-final in Exeter, they gave the defending champs a huge scare.

The Bok Women, led by inspirational captain Nolusindiso Booi, boasted a blend of experience and youthful flair that captured the imagination of rugby fans in England and back home, as did their team unity and never-say-die spirit. They have proven they can compete with the world’s elite, laying a solid foundation for future generations, inspiring young girls across South Africa to believe in their sporting dreams. It is a tale of triumph against great odds repeated by other women’s national teams.

Banyana Banyana defied leadership uncertainty and a tough qualifying draw to  reach next year’s Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) in Morocco, building on the legacy of the 2022 Afcon triumph and the historic 2023 World Cup campaign. 

Banyana showed composure and resilience, their attacking fluidity and defensive organisation once again hallmarks of a team that has matured into a continental powerhouse. They were made to sweat, however, before getting the job done in the final qualifier against the Democratic Republic of Congo.

It took a nail-biting 1-0 win at Dobsonville Stadium in the second leg of the tie to confirm their place, after the first leg in the DRC had ended deadlocked at 1-1. A late winner from veteran Thembi Kgatlana was enough to give South Africa a 2-1 aggregate victory, and send South African fans into raptures. 

While Banyana were pushed to the wire, the South African women’s hockey team displayed the kind of continental dominance other sports can only dream of – claiming their eighth consecutive African Hockey Cup of Nations title in Ismailia, Egypt, last month. Their 4-0 thrashing of Ghana in the final, with Kayla de Waal netting a brace, earned automatic qualification for the 2026 Hockey World Cup.

The triumph for coach Inky Zondi and his side was one of several commanding performances – including a 10-0 rout of the hosts – reaffirming South Africa’s status as the continent’s standard-bearers. The Paris Olympians will be hoping to carry their form into the World Cup in the Netherlands and Belgium next year.