Just days after the Proteas women lost the T20 World Cup final, Cricket SA (CSA) director Enoch Nkwe says the focus is already on the Cricket World Cup next year in India.
South Africa came so close yet so far to delivering a Cricket World Cup on Sunday when they lost by 32 runs to New Zealand in the final at the Dubai International Stadium in the United Arab Emirates.
It was the Proteas’ second defeat in a final in the space of a year. They also fell short on home soil, losing against Australia at Newlands in 2023.
Speaking to the media during a press conference at the CSA headquarters in Melrose, Johannesburg, on Tuesday after their arrival, Nkwe said the board will assess the team’s performance in the T20 World Cup and right away start planning for next year.
“We will obviously do our own internal review with the team, where we will try to identify areas that we can do better both on and off the field,” said Nkwe.
“It is a short turnaround in terms of moving from one workout to another, so we don’t have a lot of time. But that is something that is going to be happening very, very soon, identifying areas that, from an administrative point of view, we can support the team better.
“From a team point of view, we will also do the same sort of process because we want to make sure by the time we hit England [T20 tour in November] that our plans are very clear going into next year’s Cricket World Cup in India.”
Nkwe said he was still confident that the Proteas have what it takes to win the next World Cup.
“So, the great thing is that the team has been exposed to those sorts of conditions leading up to the T20 World Cup. There is going to be quite a lot that is going to be coming out that we are going to make sure that we put in place, and we give ourselves the best chance of actually winning the World Cup next year.”
