Proteas Women prioritising fielding drills as T20 World Cup approaches

Mashimbyi’s team has been guilty of some sloppiness in that part of their game in recent months, at times dropping what looked like routine catches at crucial stages of the match. 

He says he’s been impressed with how some of the more senior players have shown good athleticism, and believes they’ll be ready by the time they play their opening game.

"We've got a good fielding coach working with them now to make sure that we are ready. This is the one thing that surprises me about the women's game, you have these old players that are moving like young players, Marizanne [Kapp], Shabnim [Ismail], you must just see how they move on the field, it's actually quite crazy,” Mashimbyi said. 

“So, that's positive in terms of knowing what they are gonna give you on the field. So, for me as much as it might look like fielding has been a concern leading up to the World Cup but it's something that we're gonna actually put priority on and make sure that we don't slip up at the World Cup."

READ: Team SA shine in Ghana to defend African title despite challenges

Speaking of the experienced players, Mashimbyi also confirmed that captain Laura Wolvaardt will continue to open their batting alongside another former skipper Suné Luus. 

It’s a partnership that has been somewhat of a genius move by him, and also helped them beat India 4-1 recently in their T20I series.

"The India opening pair decided that for themselves, I didn't decide that in terms of the performances that I've put together. I think if you wanna know that I'm stupid, it will be me changing that combination and it's not gonna happen because they've shown that they can actually bat together and put us in a good position to put teams under pressure,” the coach added.