Women’s Proteas light up the doom and gloom

It takes a special cricket player to have four balls left in a T20 innings, wanting seven runs to win, and yet bring home a victory with two balls to spare.

And when women’s Proteas team stalwart Mignon du Preez did exactly that on Sunday night in the women’s T20 World Cup against a fancied England side, nobody should have been surprised. Du Preez has, after all, played 100 matches for the women’s team.

The sad reality is that she probably will not be as well known as she should be, because people in this country still do not accord women’s cricket the respect and support they deserve.

Globally, the women’s game has improved by leaps and bounds over the past decade and now frequently produces a sporting spectacle on par with the men’s game.

The win over England gives the Proteas women a good shot of reaching the semifinal – and anything can happen in a semifinal.

Yet, Sunday’s victory, coming as it did in tandem with the men’s win over Australia in a nail-biting match in Port Elizabeth, was a breath of fresh air for South African cricket.

Not only that … it’s also nice to have some good news amid the gloom and doom.

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