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The South African women’s national team will resume training on Sunday. The weeklong camp at the High Performance Center in Pretoria will serve as preparation for their planned tour of England in September.
Cricket South Africa (CSA) is still seeking government permission for the tour but is hoping to travel. India was also due to be involved, along with South Africa, for a tri-series, but withdrew. This could mean additional meetings on tour for South Africa.
The team will train together for the first time since arriving in the semi-finals at the T20 World Cup in Australia in March. Due to the pandemic, their home series against Australia and their tour of the Caribbean in June have been postponed.
Earlier this month, Hilton Moreeng was re-appointed as head coach on a three-year contract that will take him to two more ICC events, including the 50-Year World Cup in New Zealand. It remains on the schedule for now, although a final decision is expected by the end of this month. Therefore, any cricket they play in construction will serve as good preparation.
“The planned England tour will put a strong emphasis on the 50-year-old format as we begin to prepare for the ICC Women’s World Cup, which is still to be played in New Zealand early next year. “said Graeme Smith, CSA director of cricket. “We have been through a frustrating time with the squad unable to build on the excellent form they showed in the Women’s T20 World Cup, and next week’s camp represents an important new starting point.”
For now, training camp in Pretoria will take place in a bio-secure bubble, with all team members and support staff being tested. They will then resume individual training in their province until August 14, before meeting together for a second camp from August 16 to 27, subject to passing the second COVID tests.
As South Africa’s Covid19 infection rate rises and the country heads to its peak, the frequency of athlete testing is one of the issues being debated by experts. Last week, three leading medical professionals told ESPNcricinfo that in a resource-constrained country like South Africa, professional athletes might not be tested as often as elsewhere in the world, and should instead monitor and report symptoms.
South Africa Team:
Dané van Niekerk, Lizelle Lee, Marizanne Kapp, Mignon du Preez, Suné Luus, Chloe Tryon, Shabnim Ismail, Ayabonga Khaka, Maria Klaas, Trisha Chetty, Sinalo Jafta, Laura Wolvaardt, Tumi Sekhukhune, Nadine de Klerumo, Nonkululeko Moleko Tunnicliffe, Zintle Mali, Raisibe Ntozakhe, Lara Goodall, Anneke Bosch, Tazmin Brits, Robyn Searle, Andrie Steyn.
