Analysis and tactics are crucial elements for the coaching unit of the Proteas Women U19 T20 squad, as they prepare for the first match of the World Cup against New Zealand.
The U19 women's team is in Malaysia for the 2025 T20 Women's World Cup, and will play the white ferns on Saturday in Group C’s biggest clash.
Head Coach Dinesha Devnarain spoke to Independent Newspapers ahead of the first match. Since arriving in Malaysia last week, she said the team used this time to acclimate themselves to conditions.
“Obviously, we have a massive fixture first up which is against the white ferns. We are going to analyse them and try to figure out who goes where and who would be best for each period of the game. We know that we want to put enough runs on the board for the bowlers to defend.
“Specifically for New Zealand, we are going to have a good look at their unit, what they look to try and do and then counter attack,” the Proteas coach said.
Other Group C contenders include Samoa and Nigeria.
The team was unlucky and arrived in Malaysia later than expected, which affected their schedule to an extent, and also missed a warm up match against Ireland because of logistics.
The Proteas then versed defending champions India on Wednesday in another warm up match, which they lost by 6 wickets on the DLS method.
But coach Devnarain said she was not too worried about the result, but rather used the match to understand Malaysian conditions, which she indicates, is similar to Durban.
“It was unfortunate we missed the first warm up but in the second warm up, we played all 15 players so we weren’t too worried about the results of the match but more how we want to play. Also it was to get a feel of the conditions. We didn’t get the victory against India but got enough in terms of understanding the conditions and I think that was key for us.
“It is really hot and humid, very similar to the conditions in Durban. We obviously try our best to hydrate often and stay on top of our game,” she said.
With just hours left before their opening match of the tournament, Devnarain said she was confident in the amount of work they put into the team leading up to the global stage.
“Not just preparations for New Zealand but to prepare for the World Cup, we have spent a good year and a half getting ready for this world cup. We tried to simulate the Malaysian conditions as much as possible. So slow turning wickets that are difficult to hit through the line. We touched on our sweep shots which will be crucial coming into malaysia.
“From the bowling perspective, it was pretty much the same. You want to master stock ball and the variations that we would like to use on these types of surfaces. Also worked on fielding on a slower surface and how to attack the ball and what to do when the ball is hanging in the air. I think preparations in general leading up to the world cup have been good.
“The best we can do from here is try and play our next cricket in every game,” Devnarain said.