It’s been exactly 602 days since the most bitter-sweet day in South African women’s cricket history.
The sweet was the Proteas Women’s team becoming first South African team to compete in a final of an ICC event, when they came up against Australia on the most perfect Cape Town summer’s day in the showpiece match of the 2023 Women’s ICC T20 World Cup.
It was a celebration of the women’s game finally breaking through in the country, with a packed Newlands evidence of the tournament’s impact and the Proteas’ performances on home soil.
The bitter, however, was the Proteas Women falling 19 runs short when they had a real chance to create even more history. There were tears, on the field and in the stands as the team failed to get over the line despite a gutsy effort.
But 602 days later, at the Dubai International Stadium in the United Arab Emirates, the Proteas Women have another shot at glory. They are back in a Women’s T20 World Cup final after doing the “impossible” and beating the mighty Australia in the semi-final.
The Proteas Women take on New Zealand in the tournament’s showpiece match on Sunday (4pm start) for all the marbles and a chance to go step further than their male counterparts, who narrowly lost their first ever Men’s T20 World Cup final against India earlier this year.
These last 602 days have not been easy for the Proteas Women to get over that disappointment. They lost a few good women over that period, with Shabnim Ismail, Dane van Niekerk and Mignon du Preez all quitting the national team.
They also lost their long-serving coach Hilton Moreeng, while the rebuild following the departures of the spine of the team has been tough, with mixed results since that final.
But in that heartbreak, the Laura Wolvaardt’s team have finally found a calmness in reflection. “What’s done is done. How can we get back in to a final,” was the attitude that they adopted.
“It was obviously a tough pill to swallow then. We had to go back and really reflect on how we wanted to progress that and how we want to get back into a final,” all-rounder Chloe Tryon said ahead of the final.
With eyes on the 🏆 at Dubai's Museum of the Future 👀
A historic final awaits at the Women's #T20WorldCup 2024 🇿![CDATA[]]>🇦![CDATA[]]>🇳![CDATA[]]>🇿#WhateverItTakes pic.twitter.com/IxjNNmqk6y
“I think there was a lot of individuals that just want to work on their games and I felt that coming into this World Cup we just wanted to be nice and calm. I feel like we've grown a lot as a unit and as individuals and knowing our roles.
“But I feel like the way we've been playing is quite calm. And I feel like that's been really good in our group. And everyone's just been gelling really well together.”
Tryon says they have learnt from their past mistakes to stay in the moment rather than get derailed by things not going their way in certain periods of the game.
It was evident in that World Cup semi-final when they stayed calm and backed themselves when Australia threw their punches. Instead of putting up their gloves and trying to defend, the Proteas Women punched back ... and hard.
Anneke’s Bosch’s remarkable best-ever T20 International score a great example of that, as she backed herself after coming in to bat following a rather below par effort in the tournament before that.
"I feel like we've been in situations where it hasn't gone our way. I feel like we've learnt a lot quicker than what we have been before,“ Tryon said.
The moment we’ve all been waiting for is here! 🏆 The Proteas Women are set to take on New Zealand in the #T20WorldCup FINAL! 🏏![CDATA[]]>🌍 🇿![CDATA[]]>🇦
Let’s rally behind our national team as they fight for glory on the world stage!
Let’s show the world that we are #AlwaysRising! ☄️🏏![CDATA[]]>🇿![CDATA[]]>🇦
FOR… pic.twitter.com/bTYpqUc8Hz
"We also feel like we have nothing to lose. We didn't really come into the tournament nervous at the fact that we had played a final and there was a big expectation on us to get to another final. I just feel like we narrowed it down and just focused on every single game that was in front of us.
"So, I feel like players have been exposed to a lot of that [pressure situations] and they just want to do better every single game."
It’s been 602 in between World Cup finals for the Proteas Women. Hopefully, on Monday, it will be day one of their reign as world champions.
@JohnGoliath82