‘We are not reliant on one or two individuals, but on the entire squad,’ says coach Mandla Mashimbi

The Proteas Women will aim to secure an unassailable 2–0 lead in their three-match one-day international cricket series against Ireland when they take the field at St George’s Park on Tuesday, after a convincing seven-wicket victory in the opening match in East London.

Chasing 210 on Saturday, South Africa found themselves 86/3 before a composed partnership between Sune Luus and debutant Miane Smit steadied the innings and powered the hosts to victory.

Coach Mandla Mashimbyi praised the pair for absorbing pressure and then taking control of the chase.

“That partnership was really good to watch,” Mashimbyi said. “They absorbed the pressure, built a platform and then took the game away from the opponents.

“The consistency of Sune at the moment is also exciting as she continues to learn how to score runs.”

Mashimbyi emphasised the team’s long-term vision remained centred on developing a winning mindset and building depth as part of their preparations for the 2029 World Cup.

“What is key for us is creating the habit of winning, no matter the situation or the opponents we are up against. Different players are putting their hands up and that’s important.

“We are not reliant on one or two individuals, but on the entire squad. As we continue to prepare for the next World Cup, we need to learn how to win games and how to get into good positions in the game and how to get ourselves out of bad situations.

“Once you learn to do that, four years is a long time and if you can do that by the time we get to 2029, we should be where we want to be.”

Mashimbyi said it was essential to widen their base of players.

“We have brought some new players into the squad because we do have a couple of older players in the side and we have to make sure whoever is coming in is getting exposed to international cricket. They need to be given enough opportunities to compete at this level for them to get the confidence they need to have an impact in every game that we play.”

Captain Laura Wolvaardt echoed those sentiments after the opening win, highlighting both the collective effort and the contribution of senior players.

Ireland were restricted to 209/7, with Nonkululeko Mlaba starring with figures of 3/43.

“It was a really good all-round performance and it’s always nice to start a series with a win,” Wolvaardt said. “This group is quite different from teams I’ve captained before, so communication was key, and I think we did well to restrict them to that total.

“It’s very important for the senior players to put their hands up in this set-up, which allows some of the younger players to settle into their roles.”

She also praised the impact of Luus and Smit with the bat, noting that their partnership came at a fairly testing time. “They settled things down and then built a platform to launch their partnership before capitalising on the situation at the end,” the skipper said.

With the series now shifting to Gqeberha, Wolvaardt is looking forward to the challenge at the iconic St George’s Park venue after a slower surface in East London. “It’s very exciting to play here. We haven’t played a lot at St George’s Park, so it would be great to do well and go 2–0 up,” she said.

The Proteas will be eager to maintain their standards and momentum as they look to close out the series in front of their home supporters.