In the aftermath of the Proteas Women's landmark tour to Australia, head coach Hilton Moreeng rreflected on the team's performances, highlighting their resilience and determination throughout the month-long journey Down Under.
The tour featured the historic first test match between the two sides at the Western Australia Cricket Association (WACA) Ground, where Australia secured victory by an innings and 284 runs. Additionally, the Proteas achieved their first-ever T20 International (T20I) and one-day international (ODI) victories in their respective 2-1 series defeats.
In reaction to the challenging test match, Moreeng acknowledged the battles faced by his team, emphasizing the experienced nature of the Australian side.
“It was a great fight. The players went out there, they showed a lot of grit and tried to put right what we couldn't do in the first session of the test. Playing against such an experienced team on their home soil, you always knew what experience they had, they're going to ask the right questions, and their bowlers did that in the first session. We found ourselves wanting there, but we tried again with the ball and the bowlers fought.
“At the end of the day, when the wicket started getting better, Australia just showed the class that they are in. From there, we could see when we applied ourselves a little bit better in the second innings, the result we could have possibly got in the first innings.
“There’s a lot of good learnings that we take with us from this,” the head coach commented.
Shifting focus to positive aspects, Moreeng commended debutants Tazmin Brits (31) and Delmi Tucker (64), along with the experienced Chloé Tryon (64), for their second innings performances. He highlighted the learning curve in adapting to the relatively new format and pointed out glimpses of potential from the players.
“It's a format that's fairly new to us. The good thing is everyone in the changing room wants to continue playing it. It's thumbs up for us as a team, we can only improve on it. They've learned a lot about themselves as cricketers in this format and throughout the last two and a half days and what is actually required to be able to be successful in this.
“The ability is there; the more you play, the more you get the hang of it and the understanding of what is required. So you can only get better the more you play it,” he added.
Discussing the preceding white-ball leg of the tour, where South Africa secured their first-ever T20I win against Australia and replicated the feat in the 50-over format, earning valuable ICC Women’s Championship (2022-25) points, Moreeng appreciated the team's spirit despite a difficult start in each series.
Recognising missed opportunities in crucial moments, Moreeng expressed the need for the team to elevate their game in deciding matches. He also praised the competitiveness of the white-ball series and highlighted the emergence of promising young players like Tucker, Eliz-Mari Marx, and Ayanda Hlubi.
“There’s been a lot of good. You can only be proud of what they've shown. Playing Australia on their home soil is not always easy, but they've shown the grit and the fight throughout,”
Describing the tour as special, Moreeng pointed out achievements, the rise of young talents, and senior players stepping up in crucial moments. He considered the test match significant for the team, appreciating their fighting spirit. Despite the unfulfilled desired result, the 46-year-old expressed pride in his side's efforts and stressed the importance of learning from the experience for future improvements.
”This ranks as one of the best we've had because of the fight that we had to keep showing. Every time we had our backs against the wall, we had to keep fighting, somebody had to pull through and be able to come back with the wins that we did. So I think you can only build on that and take a lot of confidence out of this.
“Super proud and for us as a team, we can just go back and just make sure that we can keep improving on our shortfalls,” the coach concluded.
Audio and video featuring Proteas Women head coach, Hilton Moreeng may be downloaded here.
Proteas Women Squad - Multi-format Tour to Australia
Laura Wolvaardt (Fidelity Titans, Captain), Anneke Bosch (Fidelity Titans), Tazmin Brits (Six Gun Grill Garden Route Badgers), Nadine de Klerk (Western Province), Mieke de Ridder (Six Gun Grill Garden Route Badgers), Ayanda Hlubi (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Sinalo Jafta (DP World Lions), Marizanne Kapp (Western Province), Ayabonga Khaka (DP World Lions; Only T20Is & ODIs), Masabata Klaas (Fidelity Titans), Suné Luus (Fidelity Titans), Eliz-Mari Marx (Fidelity Titans), Nonkululeko Mlaba (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Chloé Tryon (DP World Lions), Delmi Tucker (Western Province)
Results:
T20 Warm-Up
Governor-General XI beat South Africa by 4 wickets
South Africa: 149/7 after 20 overs; N. de Klerk 48* (24), C. Tryon 39 (29); C. Sippel 2/20, C. Ainsworth 2/31
Governor-General XI: 150/6 after 19.2 overs; S. Molineux 59 (41), T. Flintoff 42 (27); M. Klaas 3/16, A. Khaka 2/29
T20I Series v Australia
1st T20I
Australia beat South Africa by 8 wickets
South Africa: 147/6 after 20 overs; T. Brits 59* (54), S. Luus 19 (17); E. Perry 2/13, D. Brown 2/20
Australia: 149/2 after 19.1 overs; B. Mooney 72* (57), A. Healy 46 (28); M. Kapp 1/25, N. de Klerk 1/25
2nd T20I
South Africa beat Australia by 6 wickets
Australia: 142/6 after 20 overs; G. Harris 31* (18), A. Healy 29 (24); M. Klaas 2/16, N. Mlaba 1/18
South Africa: 144/6 after 19 overs; L. Wolvaardt 58* (53), T. Brits 41 (28); A. Gardner 2/26, T. McGrath 1/16
3rd T20I
Australia beat South Africa by 5 wickets
South Africa: 162/7 after 20 overs; M. Kapp 75 (48), C. Tryon 26 (16); T. McGrath 1/17, G. Wareham 1/25
Australia: 163/5 after 19.2 overs; B. Mooney 82 (55), A. Gardener 26 (17); M. Klaas 1/13, C. Tryon 1/23
ODI Series v Australia
1st ODI
Australia beat South Africa by 8 wickets
South Africa: 105/9 after 31.3 overs; M. Kapp 50* (58) (retired hurt), N. de Klerk 18 (33); A. King 3/19, K. Garth 2/18
Australia: 106/2 after 19 overs; B. Mooney 52* (34), A. Healy 19 (24); N. de Klerk 1/19, M. Klaas 1/22
2nd ODI
South Africa beat Australia by 84 runs (DLS)
South Africa: 229/6 after 45 overs; M. Kapp 75 (87), C. Tryon 37* (36); A. Gardner 2/31, M. Schutt 2/35
Australia: 149 all out after 29.3 overs; K. Garth 42* (48), A. Gardner 35 (52); M. Kapp 3/12, E. Marx 2/22
3rd ODI
Australia beat South Africa by 110 runs (DLS)
Australia: 277/9 after 50 overs; B. Mooney 82* (91), A. Healy 60 (73); M. Klaas 4/56, M. Kapp 1/28
South Africa: 127 all out after 24.3 overs; S. Luus 34 (38), T. Brits 31 (37); A. King 4/26, T. McGrath 3/23
Only test
Australia beat South Africa by an innings and 284 runs
South Africa: 76 all out after 31.2 overs; S. Luus 26 (45), M. Klaas 10* (25); D. Brown 5/21, A. Sutherland 3/19
Australia: 575/9d after 125.2 overs; A. Sutherland 210 (256), A. Healy 99 (124); C. Tryon 3/81, M. Klaas 3/85
South Africa: 215 all out after 97.2 overs; C. Tryon 64 (153), D. Tucker 64 (181); A. Sutherland 2/11, A. Gardner 2/29