Andrew Puttick highlights importance of national red ball camps

South Africa’s women will face India in a one-off Test from December 9, a full two years since their last red ball international against England in December 2024.

Puttick says the two camps in Pretoria and Gqeberha over the last two weeks have helped them with mental readiness for the demands of the longest format of the game.

"Girls obviously play a lot of white ball cricket. Uhm, red-ball cricket is something that's not played a lot. We're lucky if we get one or two tests a year. So these last two camps are just about touching base again with red-ball philosophies and just making sure we are repeating the basics, looking after fundamentals, getting into the mental side of it, spending hours on your feet out in the field, and starting to think about your game. So, yeah, it's been a really worthwhile two camps," said Puttick

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He’s aware of the significant gap in experience between their players and the upcoming opponents, and believes all they can do is prepare the ladies as best they can to get them ready.

Following the India match at St. George’s Park, the next Test assignment will be against Australia in Potchefstroom in April next year.

The camps have extended an invite to a larger than usual group of players, with as many as 28 cricketers part of the preparations in both cities.

Puttick says apart from the talent depth this creates for them, it’s good for the fringe players to rub shoulders with the more established members of the team.