Exclusive: Proteas Women’s Coach Mandla Mashimbyi Issues Bold World Cup Warning

Proteas Women’s coach Mandla Mashimbyi sent out a message to world cricket ahead of the 2025 ICC Women’s World Cup, letting the world know that his team brings a unique dynamic and is going to the showpiece event to win the trophy.

COACH'S STATEMENT

Almost every World Cup year, South Africa, both men and women, never seem to be in the conversation of tournament favourites. Instead, Australia, India and England are always the go-to teams in terms of tournament favourites.

On this occasion, with the 2025 ICC Women’s World Cup set to get underway in India next month, the Proteas women are still less talked about, despite having reached two ICC World Cup finals in the past two years.

As a result, Proteas women’s coach Mandla Mashimbyi sent out a message to world cricket, letting the world know that his team brings a dynamic that no other team is capable of replicating.

Mashimbyi emphasised that his team will travel to India and Sri Lanka with their sights on bringing the World Cup trophy home to South Africa.

“Well, we're not going to go there, not wanting to win the World Cup. I think everybody must understand that we present a different dynamic in the game. We have a lot of things that a lot of teams don't have in terms of skill,” Mashimbyi told SportsBoom.co.za.

“There's just this one thing that we probably need to put together as a team, and then hopefully everything gels and then we'll be a real force to be reckoned with.”

SQUAD IS READY

Mashimbyi revealed that the Proteas women’s squad is almost ready and that it will be announced at the beginning of September after the team concludes its last camp in Durban before they travel to the subcontinent.

Before going to the World Cup, the Proteas will head to Pakistan for a series, and Mashimbyi hopes that the squad that he will take to Pakistan will be the World Cup squad.

“I do have a World Cup squad. Well, yeah, we're still in discussion with a couple of players, but it's almost done, really. We have an idea. It's just to put a stamp on it."

“Hopefully, the squad will be announced after the camp, now in Durban, which is next week sometime. And then whoever is going to Pakistan probably should be going to the World Cup.”

CULTURE CAMPS

Earlier this month, Mashimbyi hosted a unique weekend-long culture camp, where he hosted the whole squad with the sole purpose of building a stronger team culture.

Mashimbyi wanted his players to better each other with hopes of creating a thriving environment ahead of the World Cup.

“It was about just connecting a little bit more as a team and getting to understand each other a little bit more, and also just finding ways and things that are going to make us world-beaters as a team,” Mashimbyi added. 

“Also, the reason why we do it, the biggest thing was our why; Why are we in this game? Why do we want to win the World Cup? Why are we playing cricket? And it was just lighting those bulbs for the players to say, OK, your why matters, it doesn't matter if it's different to another.”

TOURING THE SUBCONTINENT

South Africa recently toured Sri Lanka for a Tri-Nations series against the hosts and India Women, where South Africa Women only managed to win one of the matches they played.

On the positive note, the side registered two 300-plus totals, with multiple batters, including Tazmin Brits and Annerie Dercksen, scoring centuries in the same conditions that they will now play the World Cup in.

Mashimbyi emphasised that the tour was meant for the players to acclimatise to the conditions.

“It was an opportunity to see where the team is at. How are they responding to pressure? Are they aware of their surroundings? Are we able to read the pitch and understand what the conditions say? Because the conditions always dictate,” said Mashimbyi.

“You can come with a plan, if the conditions say something else, you're going to have to go with what the conditions say. So, it was just getting them to understand those dynamics and putting a team together."

“And also, understanding that maybe the wickets that we're going to get in India will be on the slower side of things, might turn a little bit more, but also I don't want to just push that in their heads. What if we get there and it's different? Are we able to adapt? So, yeah, it was just them to see if they could play in those conditions and be successful."

“We've seen hundreds in Sri Lanka, and we’ve seen people take wickets. So we covered all the basics of the game. Now it's just giving them the right information and the right confidence for them to go out there and actually fight for every ball.”