Du Preez good enough for now, as Proteas women prepare for India

Though he hasn’t been given the full-time post, Cricket South Africa (CSA) is confident interim Proteas women’s coach Dillon du Preez is the right person to get the job done on their upcoming tour of India.

After more than 11 years at the helm of the national team, Hilton Moreeng stepped down on Friday, with his assistant Du Preez taking the reins for the seven-match tour of India in June and July, which includes three ODIs, three T20 Internationals and one Test.

Enoch Nkwe, the CSA director of cricket, admitted they had failed on a head-hunting mission over the last year in search for a replacement for Moreeng.

And while Du Preez had been appointed in the interim, his contract would come to an end at the close of the India tour, as the federation continued its search.

‘Ideal and fitting’

“With a short turnaround, I think it was ideal and fitting for someone like Dillon – who is experienced and has been in that environment, understands how the systems work and has good relationships that have been built over the years – to continue the work that has been done,” Nkwe said.

“He will continue working with the captain (Laura Wolvaardt) and the rest of the team going into India, while we are going through a process of trying to identify a person who is going to be taking the team on a full-time basis.”

Du Preez was full of praise for Moreeng, after serving as his assistant for more than four years, and while he had not been guaranteed the job in the long-term, he was delighted to have been given an opportunity to lead the SA women’s side.

‘Amazing’ work

“What Hilton has done for women’s cricket, and for me, in the past four years is just amazing. I couldn’t have picked a better guy to learn from,” Du Preez said.

“It’s sad to hear that Hilton is moving on, but there’s a job to do, and I look forward to this challenge.”

Moreeng, who was appointed as national head coach in December 2012, took charge of 279 matches across all three formats, with the SA team winning 144 (52%) of them.

The 46-year-old mentor also became the first national coach to reach a senior World Cup final at last year’s T20 World Cup in Cape Town.