SPIN will almost always play a big role in sub-continent conditions, and with the Women’s T20 World Cup taking place in the United Arab Emirates in October, the Proteas spinners will have a massive role to play.
Before the Proteas Women squad arrives in the UAE, they will travel to Pakistan, where they will play three T20Is in Multan from September 16-20.
This tour will serve as added preparation for the sub-continent conditions and it will mark the side’s return to Pakistan after touring the country for the first time a year ago.
Cricket South Africa spin lead, Paul Adams, joined the side during the week-long camp in Durban this week, and will be travelling to Pakistan and to the UAE to offer his expertise to what is a young group of spinners that includes the slow left-arm orthodox Nonkululeko Mlaba.
Adams believes that the camp in Durban was a success, and that the tour to Pakistan will serve the team well not only in terms of adapting to the sub-continent surfaces, but also acclimatise to the extreme heat and humidity of the region.
🌍🏏 The Road to Glory Begins! 🌟
— Proteas Women (@ProteasWomenCSA) August 27, 2024
Our Proteas Women are turning up the heat at Hollywoodbets Kingsmead Stadium in Durban, gearing up for the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2024! 💪🔥
Building on the week-long skills camp held in Tshwane earlier in the month, the team will intensify… pic.twitter.com/7polqthTrS
“The camp in Durban has been a great success because of all the hard work that’s been put in. We’ve also narrowed down strategically on how we want to play and go about it. We’ve put the plan in place, and now it’s about implementing it,” Adams told the media yesterday.
“The tour of Pakistan will be a good measuring tool in terms of how well we’re prepared for the implementation of these plans.
“It’s more the heat conditions that we’ve got to get used to. Our spinners are always going to be playing a role, so it’s about making sure that they are equipped and clear in what they want to do when they get there.”
Adams reckons the recipe for success in World Cups is not over-complicating things by focusing on the opposition too much.
The 47-year-old former Proteas tweaker is adamant that the players need only to focus on executing the plans that have been put in place to do well in the upcoming showpiece event.
“When we get to the World Cup, it’s about dealing with pressure and all the different things that go around with the World Cup – and making sure that we stay within our bubble and be the best performers we can be when we get out there in the middle,” he said.
“For the players, it’s not to focus too much on the opposition. It’s about executing what the coaching staff and the team have put together and doing it as best as we can.”
🧪🔬 Back in the lab!
A test of precision, chemistry and refining techniques 🧬.
The Proteas Women’s Training Camp is officially underway. #AlwaysRising #BePartOfIt #WozaNawe pic.twitter.com/PB7Edk6v7h
South Africa head into the World Cup having finished as runners-up in the last edition on home soil, and thus go into the tournament with added pressure, as well as added confidence to go all the way this time.
Adams said that the team aim to create history in the UAE by returning home with the trophy.
“The target is to win the tournament,” he said. “We were in the final in the last edition in Cape Town. It shows that there’s a big belief that we can do it. It’s about getting over the hurdle and winning.”
* Here at home, the women’s game received the boost it so desperately needed as Cricket South Africa announced Hollywoodbets as the new sponsor of women’s domestic cricket.
The Hollywoodbets Pro Series, with its Pro20 and Pro50 competitions, will run for the first time when the season gets under way this summer.