Mashimbyi wants more long format cricket for the development of all formats

Greater focus on long-distance cricket will take South African women's cricket to the next level, says new head coach Strong energy. Mashimbyi's tenure officially began on December 1 and will run until April 30, 2027. He will join the team ahead of their three-match ODI series against England, starting on Wednesday, where he expects to be a “little bit of a big player” . mind” as he integrates into his new role.

“I'll just try to listen and observe a little bit. I don't want to disrupt much right now because they're already in the series. But obviously I'll say what I think I need to say to make sure this series goes well because it's important to us,” Mashimbyi said in Johannesburg before heading to Kimberley, where the team is based. “I'm looking forward to connecting with all of them and being one-on-one with them and making sure we're speaking from the same page.”

Although Mashimbyi is a seasoned and successful domestic coach, his experience so far has been with men's teams. Laura Wolvaardt confirmed that she had “not actually met him or worked with him” and had not been consulted on his appointment, but was “looking forward to someone coming in and hearing what new ideas he has”. She may find it particularly interesting in the run-up to the one-off Test – South Africa's third in the past two and a half years.

“One of the plans is to play the longer version of cricket at the national level because it is easier to adapt the longer version of cricket to 50 overs and T20s, and not the other way around,” Mashimbyi said when asked about the development of the women's game at the level below international cricket. “What it produces is a thinking cricketer, a cricketer who can solve problems, a cricketer who can bat for a long time, bowl for a long time and stay in the field for a long time. So if the time is reduced, you become more effective as a player and you think or feel a lot more efficiently.”

It is unclear exactly when this will be brought into the domestic structure, which has just been professionalised, but South Africa still has time. They will not play any more Tests for the next two years, until the 2026-2027 season, when they will host Australia and India for a Test respectively. They will play three Tests in 2028: in Australia, England and at home against the West Indies. That means South Africa will play six Tests between December 2024 and December 2028 that will be two more than India and one less than Australia and England. In the next four years, South Africa will play one more Test than in the last seventeen years, with seven and eight year intervals between matches.

“I am happy that international women's cricket has received so many more tests, but unfortunately these girls are learning this on the job,” Mashimbyi said. “We want a situation where we can expose our players to that brand of cricket domestically, and it will also make it easier for them to actually transition to ODI and T20s.”

In his decade as a coach in the men's game, Mashimbyi was at Titans when they won three first-class titles, and he called it the “foundation” of the game. They also claimed four one-day cups and four T20 trophies, perhaps reflecting his point about the transfer of skills between different formats, which is ultimately what his goal with the women's team will be. After reaching back-to-back T20 World Cup finals and ODI World Cup semi-finals, the expectation is that the team will go all the way sooner or later.

Although it is not in Mashimbyi's KPIs (key performance indicators), he understands that there will be pressure on him to take the team to a trophy. “As a mandate, I think it's a no-brainer. Everyone wants to win the World Cup. I wouldn't be doing this job if I didn't want to win the World Cup,” he said. “That's one of the things that made me apply for this job: there is an opportunity for me to help players reach their true potential and thereby increase their consistency. And once they are consistent, they more confidence, and it will make it easier for us to really compete and make sure we cross that line.”

South Africa, along with Australia and England, have already qualified for next year's ODI World Cup in India and the upcoming ODIs are a chance to measure themselves against former champions. South Africa has already proven to itself that it can beat England Semi-final of the 2023 T20 World Cupfor example – and even that they can overthrow Australia, as they did at the semi-finals of this year's World Cup. But what they haven't done yet is challenge them consistently. That's partly down to the vastly superior systems in these two countries, including professional domestic contracts and franchise T20 leagues.

CSA has made a start on the former, but what about the latter? With the Women's Premier League in India switching to a January-February period from 2026, plans for a women's SA20 have been dealt a blow as CSA was believed to be eyeing a similar time slot, which is also when the men's version will be held played. and now have to think again.

“Obviously the WPL has taken the window, so we've had to reassess it internally. And once we reach a point where there's more clarity, we can come out and make an announcement,” says Enoch Nkwe, director of national teams and high performance, said. “But it is a work in progress. We are working hard to ensure we are in a strong position to announce the launch of SA20 Women soon.”