What men can learn from women’s Proteas’ weekend triumph

Writer and cricket enthusiast Darrel Bristow-Bovey was spot on yesterday when he tweeted that, beating India in the third One Day International, the South African women’s Proteas team gave their male counterparts a masterclass in how to chase down a daunting target.

He wrote: “Playing spin in India, chasing a big total, alternating between patience and acceleration – can we please have the Proteas women sharing what they know with the men, please.”

The match – which saw the women Proteas take a 3-1 lead in the five-match series – was confirmation, if such was ever needed, that cricket at international level requires much more than raw talent for a player, or a team, to succeed.

Successful teams who win on the sub-continent – where conditions are often vastly different – need to have the 3 As: attitude, application and adaptability.

In recent years, our men’s teams have often stumbled when playing away there.

Good positions on the field have frequently turned disastrous as wickets are thrown away like tenders at an ANC conference.

Our male players, and their coaches, perhaps need to swallow their pride and look closely at why the women triumphed.

And, most importantly, we should all start supporting the women Proteas.

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