It’s easy to
point fingers at the national team when trying to figure out why the rebuilding
of women’s cricket is moving so slowly. But, as most role players contacted by
gsport have agreed, the national team needs the support of a strong club and
provincial setup in order to succeed.
National
women’s cricket convenor of selectors, Geraldine Smith, told gsport: "Women’s
provincial cricket is not at the level that it should be at the moment. They
are not playing enough cricket. A lot of
young players are coming through the rank and we lose the experienced players
due to work commitments, clubs that are not functioning properly, etc.
As the South
African national women’s team prepare to head off to Pakistan in a bid to qualify for
the 2009 Women’s Cricket World Cup, back home the newly structured women’s
provincial league continues around the country.
The first
part of the 2007-08 season is effectively a trials process for the inaugural
seeding for two new leagues, aimed at ensuring strength-versus-strength for the
best six teams in a Super League competition. The remaining teams will contest
a Shield Competition, with a promotion-relegation system in place annually to
reward teams earning a changed status.
Smith believes
the new format allows room for improvement and progress for women in the
provincial sides, saying: "The gap between provincial and national and between
national and international is so wide and it is vital that we do everything in
our power to improve the provincial level so as to close the gap.
"With strong
clubs, you will have a good provincial team and an excellent national
team. It’s vital to get the players on a
higher level."
But like,
most women’s sport, the challenge facing cricket is the lack of funds which is
preventing real development from happening.
Ilse
Langhout, Vice Chairperson of the Boland Women’s Cricket Association and
Director of women’s cricket at van der Stel Cricket Club in Stellenbosch, says
she has been trying to secure a sponsor for Boland Women’s Cricket for the past
five years without success.
"This season
I’ve sent out about 50 sponsorship proposals to various companies in the
business sector requesting financial assistance for the upcoming season. So far I’ve received about 18 replies,
unfortunately all wishing us well in our endeavors, but unable to assist
financially.
"Personally I
think we are stuck in a catch 22 situation.
Currently, we are not receiving the exposure we deserve due to financial
constraints and sponsors are reluctant to get involved with women’s cricket
because they won’t get the necessary media exposure that warrants a
sponsorship."
Langhout
continues: There is definitely a market for women’s sport in South Africa. The success of gsport … for Girls! has
proven that there is an interest in the results of all sportswomen in South Africa.
There is a huge opportunity to get involved with women’s sport in South Africa
and we as women won’t disappoint if the opportunity is given to us."
gsport’s
2007 November Woman , and manager of the South African national team, Zola Thamae, is
optimistic about the situation.
"Women’s
cricket structures are in place. We have moved away from the IPT (Inter
Provincial Tournament) where it takes place for a week once a year and it’s
over, meaning if it rains you shall have lost an opportunity to play.
"Cricket South Africa
has made it possible for Women to play on a regular basis by pumping funding
for Provincial League where provinces are playing in coastal and inland
streams. The centres of excellence have come handy as they concentrate on
development. We need to market the game more so that we can attract
sponsorships as well."
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