Proteas Under-19 ladies begin quest for World Cup greatness

Not to sound too crass, but if the men can’t get the job done, we should back the Proteas Women to finally win South Africa a World Cup. 

That dream started on Friday in Tshwane, where the Proteas Under-19 ladies kicked off the 2027 Under-19 Cricket World Cup campaign with head coach Dinesha Devnarain. 

‘Coach D’, as she’s referred to by her young troops, took the team to the final of the Under-19 T20 World Cup in Malaysia earlier this year, where they lost to India in the final. 

Three of the players from the Under-19 T20 World Cup side will miss the training camp due to national call-ups from the senior team to train ahead of a tri-series in Sri Lanka.

They include wicket-keeper Karabo Meso, spinner Seshnie Naidu and all-rounder Miane Smit. 

No doubt Devnarain, the coaching staff and the entire squad will look to avenge their loss to India in the T20 World Cup final, but the road to victory is a long, and as the Proteas Men have shown us, nerve-wracking one. 

Between Friday and next Monday, 24 of the country’s brightest female cricketing talents will undergo athletic performance profiling, along with net sessions and intra-squad matches so coaches and management can size them up.

The 24 players were shortlisted out of a group of 50 for the training camp. 

“Like we did with the first camp, the players selected for this second Under-19 national camp were identified based on strong performances during the National Weeks.

“This is the second group from an initial pool of 50 players, and it’s exciting to bring together another talented batch to see how they compete and showcase their abilities.

“We’re looking for vibrant players who can support our brand, and ultimately, we’re searching for those with the potential to lift a World Cup trophy for South Africa in the Under-19 space,” Devnarain said.

“We’re placing a strong emphasis on game-time.

“There will be matches throughout the weekend and possibly a net session to observe how the players train and translate those efforts into match performances.

“We’ll wrap up the camp with a debrief to reflect on what we've seen,” she added.