A super-successful nine-year spell as the head coach of the North West Dragons women’s team has come to an end for Francois van der Merwe, who has taken up a new and exciting challenge.
Van der Merwe has taken up the position of the head coach of the Namibia Women’s National Cricket team this month and will look to continue growing the game of cricket in Namibia.
His key focus point will be to develop the women’s game in our border country and use his knowledge and experience to full effect.
Van der Merwe has an impressive CV, having coached the Dragons to eight trophies in both 50-over and T-20 formats. During that time, the Dragons women’s team also went undefeated in the 2018–19 season while claiming the 50-over title. Personally, Van der Merwe has also won numerous coaching awards during his tenure at North West Cricket, transforming the union into a prime spot for developing women’s cricket in South Africa.
One of the highlights was when he was named as the SA Emerging Women’s coach in a tri-series against England and Australia in 2018, in what he describes as one of his busiest years. “The vision for the national team is to qualify for all major ICC tournaments and develop the national players to get contracts in various T20 leagues all over the world,” stated Van der Merwe.
Van der Merwe also mentioned the importance of growing the love for the game through mass participation from a young age to transition from soft ball to hard ball cricket.
