Anneke Bosch is 'grateful' to be back for Proteas Women, having recovered from illness

PROTEAS batter Anneke Bosch’s unbeaten 74 in last year’s T20 World Cup semi-final against Australia Women marked her rise as a dominant force in world cricket.

Under immense pressure, against the best team in the history of Women’s cricket, Bosch held her nerves and blew them away, helping South Africa qualify for their second consecutive T20 World Cup final.

As a result, having missed the Tri-Nations Series in Sri Lanka due to an illness earlier this year and the subsequent tour to the Caribbean, it was a massive concern for South Africa.

Yes, South Africa has some promising young batters, including Miane Smit and Karabo Meso, but experience can’t be bought, and Bosch brings plenty of it.

In an exclusive interview with Independent Media, Bosch reflected on the months she spent recovering and away from the game as hurtful.

“It’s never nice to miss out or to be sidelined for whatever reason. It definitely hurt a lot, and it was very disappointing and frustrating, but I'm just really grateful and glad that I could recover in time and that I'm back with the team now,” Bosch said.

“It was a difficult period, and it was difficult to miss out and not be with the team in the tours leading up to the World Cup or in a World Cup year.

“You want to be with the team as you're preparing for something big like that. It was a tough time, but I'm glad I recovered in time and that I can be with the team again.

“I had a lot of support from teammates and friends and family and our management. So, that made it a bit easier and better to handle and to get through.”

The 32-year-old added that her time away from the game helped her realise how much she enjoys the game and representing South Africa at the highest level.

Bosch is part of the Proteas Women’s squad for the upcoming ICC Women’s World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, having successfully recovered.

She officially played her first game for South Africa during the third One-Day International match against Pakistan Women earlier this week.

“I was just really happy and excited to be back. I think being away from the game and from the team and from competitive and international cricket, it just makes you realise again how much you enjoy it and appreciate it,” she said. 

“So, when I played the game against Pakistan, I tried not to think about it too much or not to get too emotional about it. But I was just really happy to be back and realised again how blessed we are to be able to do what we love. I was just really grateful to be back.”

Head coach Mandla Mashimbyi and the rest of the Proteas Women’s coaching staff showed their backing for Bosch by including her in the World Cup squad despite missing out on a lot of international fixtures this year.

Bosch emphasised that it means a lot to her that the coaching staff backs her to do the job for the country in the World Cup. 

“It definitely means a lot. Not playing in any international games throughout this whole year, but still getting selected for the World Cup, I think it's really special,” she said.

“As a player, it's really important that you know that your coaches and management believe in you, back you and think that you're good enough. So, it's great to have their backing.”

South Africa Women will be back in action on Sunday as they take on Pakistan Women in their second and final warm-up match before they get the World Cup campaign underway against England Women on 03 October.