Some of the members of the Proteas Women's cricket squad returned home from the T20 World Cup, held in the UAE, on Tuesday. Picture: Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images
South Africa’s Proteas women’s team arrived home early Tuesday from the United Arab Emirates where they finished runners-up in the T20 World Cup final.
A small, but vocal, crowd, including Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie, greeted them on their return home.
The Proteas, under the leadership of Laura Wolvaardt, who finished the T20 World Cup tournament as the leading run-scorer, lost the final to New Zealand by 32 runs on Sunday.
Wolvaardt, Nadine de Klerk, Marizanne Kapp and Chloe Tryon did not arrive with their team-mates, who all received a bouquet of flowers on entering the arrivals hall at OR Tambo International, as they have headed to Australia to play in the Big Bash League.
It was the team’s second straight loss in the tournament final, after also suffering defeat in the 2023 edition, in Cape Town last year, against Australia.
South Africa’s men’s team also lost this year’s T20 World Cup final, against Australia in Barbados in June. It was the team’s first appearance in the global showpiece final.
McKenzie, who watched the Proteas women take on New Zealand in the final from a suite at the Wanderers Stadium fan get-together on Sunday, told the media the time had come for the women’s cricketers to earn the same as the men.
He also hailed the Proteas women’s team as “one of the best teams in the world” and that it was just “bad luck” that they didn’t win the tournament.
“But, they have done us proud, they are the best, they are our girls,” said McKenzie.
Watch McKenzie talk about his fight for women to earn the same as men.
McKenzie also spoke about how sports in schools needed better development to bring through the next sports men and women. Watch it here:
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