EXCLUSIVE | Tryon hails The Hundred as vital World Cup preparation for Proteas Women

Playing in leagues like The Hundred in the UK is not only valuable experience but also vital for understanding the minds of the world’s best cricketers, Proteas Women all-rounder Chloe Tryon believes.

Tryon returned this week from England alongside Marizanne Kapp and Laura Wolvaardt, who also featured in the short-format competition. She and Wolvaardt represented Southern Brave and reached the final, only to fall short.

“It was a bit disappointing not to win the final, but I cherished the experience nonetheless,” Tryon said in an exclusive interview with Independent Media.

The Durban-born all-rounder has a few days’ rest before she and the rest of the squad head to Pakistan for a three-match ODI series, which will also double-up as warm-up matches for the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup. Playing in Pakistan is intended to help the team acclimatise quickly, as the World Cup will be staged in India and Sri Lanka.

Tryon was named on Wednesday as one of the 15 players in the Proteas' World Cup squad and will form part of their powerful batting unit. She said The Hundred had been invaluable for her development.

“I think leagues like these are really important because you get to rub shoulders with the best in the world,” she explained. “Playing alongside them and against them is good because we didn’t get those experiences before.

“Now, we are in a place where we can learn about players from other countries, how they go about things. Especially now, going into the World Cup, you want to notice things you didn’t see before, even if it’s just a small little tick about them. It’s like an insight into them, and that’s important during World Cup preparations.

“These leagues are also important because we all get to play at the highest level against the very best, so you are constantly pushing yourself to compete. It feels like you are playing an international match at times, and that’s helped me fine-tune things in my game I wanted to work on.”

The Proteas are scheduled to play three games at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore before flying to Sri Lanka at the end of September to face Pakistan in another warm-up match, followed by Bangladesh. They play their first World Cup match against England on October 3 in Guwahati in north-east India.

While South Africa have never lacked talent, Tryon believes composure and executing their gameplans have not always been their strengths. Thanks to The Hundred and other competitions such as Australia’s Women’s Big Bash League, she says players are now bringing back crucial knowledge about opponents.

“You need to be able to talk about game plans, but if you look back a couple of years ago, we weren’t having that many conversations about analysis and how we looked at different players. The game has evolved so much, and you now have to consider every individual from every country.

“They are playing 360-degree cricket, and it becomes hard to plan for that. Even in women’s cricket, with only four fielders out, players are still finding ways to score. As a team we need to figure out how to bowl to them and identify their weaknesses.

“These types of conversations play a key role going into the World Cup. They are just as important as talking about your own team and how you want to prepare,” Tryon concluded.