Proteas Women’s cricket team depart on a historic white-ball tour of Pakistan

The Proteas women’s cricket team has been one of the good news stories of the year and as they depart on a historic white-ball tour of Pakistan, one would expect plenty of excitement from all involved.

But this is a team in turmoil with reports of a split in the camp too numerous to be ignored.

The coach, Hilton Moreeng, in his position in an interim capacity at the moment, dismissed the split as nothing more than challenges that pop up in every team.

“Yes, there are challenges here and there where there are internal things that we discuss because as you can see the landscape has changed. The country has become professional. But regarding the changing room being divided, it is not something that has happened. I think all of us are looking for the way forward and the team needs to see how we can improve on our last performance in the World Cup, which we are building on as a team, and through that whatever challenges we encounter, which is normal in any changeroom. It is one of those things we discuss as we move along.”

Like the coach, the Proteas captain, the supremely talented Laura Wolvaardt, is also set to serve in an interim capacity. She is an obvious leader but says she will use this upcoming tour to see if she can take on the captaincy in a full-time role.

Wolvaardt says she hopes to follow the strong leaders that came before her in the Proteas.

“At the same time, we had great leaders in Dane and Sune. So, I didn’t want to say anything that could impact that. So, I was just hiding my time and the opportunity presented itself. I’m very excited for the challenge. I think it will test me as a cricketer and hopefully help me develop my game as well.”