Ken Borland

When former Knights pace bowler Dillon du Preez took over as the interim coach of the Proteas women’s team, he felt like he had a mountain to climb. Now that he has scaled that peak by leading the side to the T20 World Cup final, the flats, much like the terrain around his Free State home, surely now lie ahead?

But Du Preez himself is not sure he wants to continue as the head coach. This is despite the obvious rapport he has built up with the team – starting in September 2020 as an assistant – and his fellow management team at the World Cup.

Replacing Hilton Moreeng, who stepped down as head coach in May after 11 years at the helm, has proven problematic for Cricket South Africa. Finding a suitable candidate with a Level IV coaching certificate (which Du Preez has) has been the stumbling block.

The 42-year-old Du Preez wonders whether he has enough experience for such a key role, having only been coaching for two tears when Moreeng hand-picked him as his bowling consultant in 2020. Firm friends off the field from their playing days, they led South Africa to the T20 World Cup final on home soil in 2023, losing to Australia.

“It’s been difficult for me,” Du Preez told Rapport when the team returned to a heroines’ welcome in Johannesburg this week. “Doing things like handling the media has been fairly new to me and I do wonder whether I’m the right person to continue. The cornerstones are there, you have to learn how to get past semi-finals and we have done that, and now we are one step away from winning finals.

“But we are on our way. The one thing I question though is do the team need more from their head coach? I will be taking a few days off now and then I will sit down with Enoch Nkwe [director of cricket] and we will discuss everything,” Du Preez said.

He also praised his two assistants, Paul Adams (bowling) and Baakier Abrahams (batting), for their valuable input that has certainly added value to the team.

“They have been very valuable, you can see that in the huddle, which Paul runs. He brings such focus and calmness, he’s been around so when he speaks, people listen.

“And Baakier has been a coach for a while. He has got buy-in from the players and they all know their scoring areas now,” Du Preez said.

Even though the Proteas fell at the final hurdle, losing to New Zealand by 32 runs in the T20 World Cup final in Dubai, they were highly impressive in the daring cricket they played, and their upset victory in the semi-finals over six-time champions Australia was one of the most complete all-round performances in South African cricket history.

“I’m very proud of the ladies. We had a discussion after the final and we told them all the positives that came out of the World Cup, but we also said nothing we say is going to make you feel better.

“But you have to take the positives out: making back-to-back finals in very different conditions and there were lots of individual accolades too. We were outplayed in the final and in hindsight there were things we could have done differently.

“I think our confidence started to grow after the India series, there were a few areas we identified, and some tools we gave the players in two skills camps we had, in which Paul and Baakier were heavily involved.

“Then we went to Pakistan and we could see from game one that things were starting to fall into place. Especially in terms of more aggressive batting, for which we got buy-in from the players.

“So real belief was there when we went to the World Cup, even though conditions were incredibly tough – the heart rates went up to 140-160 just standing still in the heat, so we had to have lots of water breaks.”

The Proteas have arrived in Zimbabwe as world Test champions ahead of their two-match series starting on Saturday, with all-rounder Wiaan Mulder saying the team enjoys a new, deeper bond after Lord’s, but it is something that the newcomers in the squad can also find welcoming.

Only six of the 14-man South Africa squad for the two Tests in Bulawayo were at Lord’s for the epic victory over Australia.

“It was the biggest Test win of our lives, so we had awesome celebrations with each other and our sponsors, before returning to our families and the people that mean the most to us. That reset was important because the World Test Championship final was an extremely high high, it was all a bit of a blur, there was so much adrenaline and I hardly slept for 10 days,” Mulder said this week.

“So to spend a couple of days at home was very important for us to come back to reality. We were treated like royalty before, but that’s not real life. Going from Lord’s, the home of cricket and all the history and tradition, to Bulawayo, I guess will make quite a difference too.

“It’s a new squad with a lot of guys wanting to prove a point, guys who have played so well domestically over the last couple of seasons to get here. So we’re not going to think too much about what happened in the WTC.

“But there’s a spirit in the squad that I’ve not seen before, to be honest. The big difference is our self-image, we now believe. I don’t think we always did believe we could beat the big teams, and there were lots of big moments that made us sore.

“There’s now a very big belief that we can reach those heights again and the young guys coming in believe that too. And we will continue doing it our way. But we’re not being arrogant because we know that we must still put our best foot forward on every ball.

“We’ve had those conversations already, that no matter what team is representing the Proteas, it will be the best team available at that time and we are the world champions. So we will train like we are the best in the world, we won’t be taking any steps back and we want to keep showing the character that means we keep coming back.

“Obviously some of the guys need some rest, but that provides an opportunity for someone else and we will still be pushing the bar as much as we can,” Mulder said.

The 27-year-old said he also wants to build a relationship with his new spot in the batting order – at number three. Things went poorly there for Mulder in the first innings at Lord’s as he came to the crease at the end of the first over, and struggled to 6 off 44 balls in a torrid test for any top-order batsman, let alone a makeshift one.

But he certainly showed mental steel in the second innings as he ensured he did not get ‘stuck’, moving fluently to 27 and helping Aiden Markram lay a crucial solid foundation up top as they added 61 for the second wicket.

“I wouldn’t say I was thrown in the deep end because I always see myself as a batsman. I think I have spent a lot of my career hiding behind wanting to be more of a bowler. I loved getting a chance at three and hopefully I can make it work because it balances the team nicely and I believe I can play in many different situations.

“I hope [coach] Shukri Conrad’s thinking stays the same, but I need to get runs wherever I bat. I’ve had a lot of ups and downs in my career and I don’t think I’ve done as well as I can or as well as Shukri thinks I can.

“But I will give everything I can because batting at three could just be a temporary thing. But hopefully I can fill that role through to the next WTC final. I’ve worked very hard technically on being able to manage the new ball and score runs. The final was only the second time I’ve batted there in Test cricket without a broken hand and I learned a lot.

“I want to be positive and show good intent. The first innings taught me that I need to get into positions to transfer the pressure, that is more important than just trying to survive. It’s important that I have the mindset of looking to score, that’s when I’m at my best and I did that more in the second innings.

“I’m still figuring it out; some people will say that means I’ve been thrown in the deep end, but others would say that’s the best place to learn because you get proof of whether what you’re trying to do will work,” Mulder said.

In terms of his bowling, the right-arm seamer acknowledges that it will take something of a miracle for him to keep up his bowling loads if he becomes settled at number three in the batting line-up.

“Every day I’m trying to work out how I’m going to manage the batting and the bowling, to still be able to bowl 15 overs in a day and bat number three – it’s finding that balance. Few people have been able to do that, even the King, Jacques Kallis, didn’t bowl as many overs when he batted number three.

“But I will always be the fourth bowler, which gives me a chance to step back a bit. That’s the planning at the moment and hopefully I make it very difficult for them to move me back to number seven. I’m 27 now and I really want to put my best foot forward,” Mulder said.

Helping the Central Gauteng Lions star produce his best in Zimbabwe will be stand-in captain Keshav Maharaj, who Mulder says has been a tremendous inspiration for him in his Proteas career.

“Keshav is someone I have really looked up to, since the beginning of my career. Before my first first-class game, he messaged me to congratulate me. He didn’t know me at all, but he reached out and that says it all about him as a person, I so admire him.

“He’s probably our best spinner ever, he knows exactly where each ball needs to go, he’s very calculating and he’s very caring. He’s been my captain at Durban Super Giants and his understanding of the game is very good.

“I tended to focus too much on what was happening in my head, but Keshav has been able to get me more in a routine and doing the things that give you success over a long period.

“I think he’ll be very proud captaining South Africa in a Test match for the first time, it’s been one of his aspirations because it’s the pinnacle of the game. I think he’s going to be a great captain and maybe it will open a door for him because who knows how long Temba Bavuma is going to be around?” Mulder said.

Cape Town – Scotland’s Kylie Henry will be the frontrunner in the final round of the Standard Bank Ladies Open at Royal Cape Golf Club, after she posted a three-under-par 71 on Thursday to stretch her lead to three shots ahead of the last day on Friday.

The 37-year-old is on eight-under-par overall after two rounds on the par-74, 5738 metre Royal Cape layout. Henry came from two strokes back to win the Dimension Data Ladies Pro-Am at Fancourt a month ago, but her previous Ladies European Tour victory came at the 2014 German Open when she led after the second and third rounds, her three straight 64s giving her record tallies for 36 and 54 holes on that tour.

A pair of South Africans are once again Investec Order of Merit leader Henry’s closest challengers, but now it is Casandra Alexander and Gabrielle Venter, who both shot 69s on Thursday to move to five-under-par.

Shawnelle de Lange (71) and Lora Assad (72) were second and third after the first round, but De Lange shot 77 in the second round to slip back to level-par, and Assad made 78 to slide to two-over.

SuperSport Ladies Challenge winner Tvesa Malik is on four-under-par in a tie for fourth with France’s Emie Peronnin and Englishwoman Florentyna Parker. They all shot three-under 71s on Thursday.

De Lange initially kept in contact with Henry, but then a seven on the par-five 16^th and a bogey on the par-four 17^th saw her fall away.

Henry battled a bit to find her best game on the front nine, going out in level-par as she dropped shots on the first, seventh and eighth holes. But she also made back-to-back birdies on the third and fourth holes, and then again on nine and 10. The two-time Ladies European Tour winner’s beautiful ball-striking then enabled her to birdie the par-five 14^th and 16^th holes, as well as the par-three 16^th for her to pull a little clear of the chasing pack.

South African rugby will forever be bonded with Kitch Christie’s famous ‘high road or the low road’ scenario before the 1995 World Cup triumph, but Bulls coach Jake White says it is still too early to consider his team as being at a similar crossroads ahead of their crunch United Rugby Championship match against the Sharks in Durban on Saturday.

Coach Christie said it was crucial that the Springboks beat defending champions and favourites Australia in the opening match of the 1995 World Cup and take the “high road” through the tournament; defeat would mean the “low road” requiring victories over England and New Zealand before the final. South Africa pulled off a sensational 28-18 win, setting them up for an unbeaten run through the tournament they hosted.

The Bulls, having lost last weekend to the Stormers in Cape Town, are now five points behind the defending champions in the South African Shield, having played an extra game. If the Sharks beat the Bulls with a bonus point at Kings Park, then they could be within another bonus-point win of the Pretoria side, with a game in hand.

But White, who has called the late Christie his mentor, is not stressing about the log at this stage.

“We’re not at the high road or low road point yet and it’s not a do-or-die game,” White said on Friday. “It’s still so open, although we do know Leinster are the pace-setters, they always have been.

“We beat the Sharks with a bonus point at Loftus, and if the Sharks beat the Stormers twice and we win this weekend, then we would be favourites again to win the conference.

“There are still a lot of permutations between now and the end of the tournament, and not every team will win every game at home. Winning a couple of matches away is the premium.

“But we will be up against one of the strongest provincial sides, although one thing I enjoy about the URC is that a team can beat anyone on any given Saturday. That’s exciting,” White said.

Nine current Springboks is what the Bulls, who will field Johan Goosen at fullback and Chris Smith at flyhalf, are up against. The combination of Smith and Goosen played in the pivotal game-management positions when the Bulls beat the Sharks 40-27 at Loftus Versfeld at the end of October, which is why White has made that selection again.

“The last time we played the Sharks we did that and it worked well, and we didn’t have Kurt-Lee Arendse and Canan Moodie then,” White said. “It means we have two kickers and two passers and can move the ball away from flyhalf.

“I’ve heard it might rain in Durban too and the Sharks don’t play much in their own half, they have a good kicking game and Makazole Mapimpi is very good in the air.

“But it’s not just a reaction to them, it worked for us at home and it gives us two guys who understand how we want to play. It’s important that Bernard van der Linde can also kick with both feet at scrumhalf,” White said.

Bulls:Johan Goosen, Canan Moodie, Cornal Hendricks, Harold Vorster, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Chris Smith, Bernard van der Linde, Elrigh Louw, Cyle Brink, Marco Van Staden, Ruan Nortje (c), Ruan Vermaak, Mornay Smith, Johan Grobbelaar, Simphiwe Matanzima. Bench -Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Gerhard Steenekamp, Sebastian Lombard, Janko Swanepoel, Nizaam Carr, Embrose Papier, Lionel Mapoe, David Kriel.