Success is a lousy teacher, says Proteas women's coach Mandla Mashimbyi

Despite having lost two consecutive games in the ongoing Tri-Nations series against hosts Sri Lanka Women and India Women, South Africa Women's coach Mandla Mashimbyi believes that the side is moving in the right direction.

The side lost by 15 runs and five wickets to India Women and Sri Lanka Women, respectively, last week. In both matches, Mashimbyi has identified periods in which South Africa dominated.

The only area of concern, according to Mashimbyi, is the side's failure to dominate for long periods to force a result in their favour.

"I think we're gaining a lot more than the results suggest," Mashimbyi said on Tuesday.

"You only learn the best when you lose, and as we all know that winning is also a lousy teacher. Whenever we felt that we were on top, we just lost wickets and lost the momentum, and that's criminal in these types of conditions. 

"(Now) It's to identify the gaps, the little things that we actually have to look into. It's a field placement here, it's an over here that changes the momentum of the game, it's prolonging the partnerships. 

"All those things that are vital in making sure that we stick and keep our strong position in the match, and that's basically it, is that we didn't prolong the good periods that we actually had where we dictated the match."

The Proteas women's team will be looking to redeem themselves on Wednesday in Colombo as they are set to face India Women at the R. Premadasa Stadium.

On Friday, the side will be back in action to take on the hosts, Sri Lanka women, to conclude the round robin fixtures of the series. 

Should South Africa win both matches, they will stand a chance to play in the final of the series, which is set to get underway on Sunday. 

This means the next two games are knockout games for South Africa.

Mashimbyi is keen to see how his team will respond to the pressure, as it will give him a good idea of their readiness for the pressure that they will potentially face in the World Cup later this year. 

"I would rather it happen now than in the World Cup, and I can assure you now, when the World Cup comes, we'll be able to handle whatever pressure is given to us, because this is a learning curve for us in these conditions," said Mashimbyi.

"For us now, what we need to do after this tri-series we need to go back to the drawing board and make sure that we fill up all the gaps that we've identified during this series.

"I think that's what's important for us now. As the new coach of this team, there are a lot of things that I needed to observe and see where the team is at under pressure." 

Wednesday's fixture against India Women is scheduled to start at 6.30 am.