‘Never again’: Mashimbyi says Proteas will be better prepared for next Test

With no Test match scheduled next year, head coach Mandla Mashimbyi says he will need to find other ways to ensure the Proteas women develop their game in the red-ball format so they are better prepared when they get another chance to play a four-day match.

The Proteas played three Tests this year – the first time they have played more than two four-day games in a year since 1972 – but they lost all three contests.

In their latest Test, which ended in Bloemfontein on Tuesday, they were handed a 286-run defeat against England.

There were positives they could take from the match, with Laura Wolvaardt, Sune Luus and Marizanne Kapp all scoring half-centuries in their first innings, and spin bowler Nonkululeko Mlaba returning career-best figures of 10/157.

The hosts collapsed to 64 all out in their second innings, however, which was the SA squad’s lowest innings total in a Test match.

“As a new coach I’ve been observing and I’ve seen where the players are at from an emotional, mental and physical point of view,” said Mashimbyi, who took charge of the team midway through their home tour against England, which also included a 3-0 T20 series loss and a 2-1 ODI series defeat.

“There’s a lot of things we’re going to have to put in place to make sure we become a force going forward, but I promise you now what we’ve seen here today (the second-innings collapse in Bloemfontein) will never happen again.”

Two-day practice games

Though he didn’t have the power to simply demand more Test matches for his squad, Mashimbyi did say there were better ways to ensure they were ready when they did get another opportunity.

“I will make sure we expose our players to more red ball stuff by playing two-day matches within our camps, just to give them this type of exposure so they can understand their games a bit better,” he said.

“The other decisions will have to come from the powers above, but in terms of me preparing my team, it’s definitely something we’re going to have to look into.”