KEEPING UP WITH TRISHA CHETTY: The T20 World Cup diary

Trisha Chetty debuted for SA against New Zealand in 2007 in the shortest format and has played 82 WT20Is. She has featured in four World Cups for the Proteas but was ruled out of the first women’s World Cup on African soil owing to a recurring back injury.

Chetty will nevertheless be keeping a close eye on her teammates as they chase silverware. In her maiden column, she talks about putting the team ahead of individual ambition, why the fitness standards aren’t too tough and snapping the semifinal curse.

Thursday, 9 February – Bad backs and good combinations

With some players either retired, injured or not able to meet the fitness standards, I feel the Proteas squad that has been selected for the 2023 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup is the best 15 to be on the field right now. Most of the girls are peaking at the right time and we’ve got a good combination of youth and experience at the moment in our team.

PROTEA FIRE STILL BURNS INSIDE OF ME

In terms of being in the selection frame, I think I would have been the frontline wicketkeeper if it wasn’t for my back injury. I have been to four World Cups and the fire most definitely still burns inside of me to play for the Proteas. Unfortunately, I’ve got a recurring back injury which stems from 2018. It has gotten worse over the years and at our last training camp I fell to the floor because of the pain. I had to stop and rest. I’m doing what I can now to be pain-free, am strengthening my back and taking it one day at a time. If I can't and don’t get back to playing, I’m hoping to still be part of the system.

Right now I’m not in a position to train the way I could so when coach Hilton Moreeng asked, “Are you going to give it one more shot and give the World Cup a chance?” I replied, “At the moment I can’t do that because I would be taking somebody else’s spot who is 100 per cent.” I would have been at like 60 per cent going to this World Cup and I didn’t want to do that because I didn’t want to let the team down. You have to be physically fit going into match situations and especially when it comes to tournaments as huge as this one.

THE TEAM FITNESS STANDARDS ARE FAIR

I don’t think the fitness standards we are held to are too tough. We all know what we need to achieve when it comes to playing in tournaments and especially at a World Cup. Right now it’s about the 15 who have been selected. The ones who didn’t make it because of retirement, injury or failed fitness levels are not actually a priority right now. I feel the ladies who are representing the Proteas at the World Cup are the main priority.

I’ve worn the gloves for the last few World Cups so this will be a different experience for another ‘keeper. When it comes to Sinalo Jafta, she’s got a lot of potential and has been in our system for a long time. She has played a lot of T20 games at domestic level so she is quite experienced in that regard. She has done the hard work, is quite a passionate wicketkeeper and I would say that she is in the right place at the right time.

‘KEEPERS THE LOUDEST ON THE FIELD

Wicketkeepers are a special breed. We have to be the ones who speak a lot on the field and motivate our teammates. We have to be the loudest players on the field to keep the girls on their toes. We also do a lot of directing with our hands. It’s a role which comes with plenty of responsibility but if you enjoy what you do, it comes easily to you.

We have been drawn in Group A alongside Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Australia and Bangladesh. I really think we have a good chance; I’m not going to lie about that. Our obstacle has always been the semifinals so I can’t predict if we’re going to win the tournament or not but we have a good chance of progressing past the group stages (the top two teams advance) and getting to the last four. My optimism comes from the fact that we’re really firing on all cylinders in our batting, bowling and fielding disciplines.

SUNE RELISHING LEADERSHIP ROLE

I think Sune Luus has done a really good job since taking over the responsibility of captaincy from Dane van Niekerk so late ahead of the last ICC World Cup. The team knows what they need to do going into this campaign and they’ve prepared really well.

They are united and have one goal which is to cross over the line in the semifinals and win the final this year. Australia are the current T20 World Cup holders and have won the tournament five times but I honestly don’t think much separates them from the rest.

That said, they know the feeling of having won a final and, as soon as you get a taste of it, that’s all you want. We have let ourselves down in the semifinals but if we get to the final I know we can win the trophy. As soon as we break that boundary, it will get us on the same path as the likes of Australia and England. I don’t think that it’s a lack of skill but rather mental fitness on the day because we boast some truly world-class players.

The 2023 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup gets underway in Cape Town on Friday with South Africa against Sri Lanka. Catch all 23 matches live on Your World of Champions.