SA has burning desire to win Women’s Cricket World Cup, says vice-captain

SA women’s cricket team vice-captain Chloé Tryon says she and her teammates and backroom staff have a burning desire to do what their male Proteas counterparts have often  failed to do. 

The Momentum Proteas, even without injured inspirational captain Dane van Niekerk, are one of the favourites to go all the way at the 2022 ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup hosted by New Zealand from March 4 to April 3.

But there is a big monkey on the team’s shoulders. Much like their male counterparts, the team has a semifinal bogey weighing on them.

They lost a rain-affected Twenty20 World Cup semifinal against Australia in Sydney in 2020, were outclassed by England at the same stage of the 2014 edition and lost another semifinal to England in the 50-over tournament in 2017.

The right-handed hard-hitting all-rounder who turned 29 last month was a member of the teams that suffered those setbacks. She said the desire to go past the semifinal stage of a major tournament and all the way this time round is written in bold across the faces of everyone in the team.

 “We’ve been close and it has been disappointing, but you can see the desire that everyone has in this team that they want to win the World Cup,” Tryon said from her hotel room in Christchurch where the team is preparing for the tournament.

“We are used to it [playing in semifinals] and it is about taking the next step and taking a bit more responsibility.

“We have dreamt about it [winning the World Cup] for a long time. We want to make South Africans proud.”

The team has swept all before them on their way to the World Cup, racking up five successive ODI series wins that culminated in a 2-1 series triumph against a strong West Indies side in Johannesburg in January.

“The way we have been playing has been fantastic and I think it would be great for us and SA if we can win this World Cup.

“We are working hard and we know it would be a big thing for us. I’m really excited to give it a go with this team.”

The team arrived in New Zealand two weeks ago and settled in a managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) facility used to house everyone arriving in the country for 10 days.

They have been out of it for a week and have had several training sessions as they gear up for the Cup.

“It was tough in the MIQ, especially after the long travelling for about two days. We are glad to get out and get some fresh air and get back to training. I’m really excited,” said Tryon.

The team will play two warm-up matches against India on Sunday and England on Tuesday in Christchurch.

A total of 31 games will be played over 31 days, with the eight teams clashing for the coveted World Cup trophy.

Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Hamilton, Tauranga and Wellington are the six cities hosting the tournament.

SA got automatic qualification on the basis of their ranking in the ICC Women’s Championship cycle from 2017 to 2020 with Australia and England, while New Zealand automatically qualified as hosts.