SOUTH African womens cricket entered a new frontier with the launch of the Cricket South Africa (CSA) Professional Domestic Womens League at Freedom Park in Tshwane.
Exciting news is that the Six Gun Grill Garden Route Badgers will be one of the six fully professional teams in this league. The first division will consist of six teams, which includes 2022/23 T20 and 50-over champions DP World Lions and Six Gun Grill Western Province, respectively, along with the Fidelity Titans, Hollywood bets Dolphins, Six Gun Grill Garden Route Badgers, and newcomers Free State.
The League will comprise two main tournaments – the CSA Womens One Day Cup and CSA Womens T20 Challenge. The new structure has been set up with the help of the Department of Sports, Arts and Cultures investment of R15 million over three years. “This league is a symbol of progress, breaking down stereotypes, and the challenging of preconceived notions about womens roles in sports. It represents a shift in mindset, where talent, dedication, and passion take precedence over gender,” said the Minister of Sports Zizi Kodwa.
Significant changes have been implemented to the womens structure with the number of permanent contracts in the “Top Six Division 1 raised from six to 11 players per team.
Additionally, there will be an improved and permanent coaching set-up consisting of a head coach and an assistant coach, as well as a centralised system for physiotherapists and strength and conditioning coaches attending to each team.
The new structure follows the immense success of the Proteas in the last ICC Womens World Cup 2022 hosted in New Zealand and the ICC T20 Womens World Cup 2023 on home soil, where they reached the semi-finals and final, respectively. It was at the latter tournament where Proteas Women were dubbed ‘History Makers’, as the first senior national team to reach the final of an ICC World Cup.
South Africa also hosted the inaugural ICC U19 Women`s T20 World Cup in January 2023 where the SA U19 team narrowly missed out on a spot in the semi-finals, after an exhilarating Super 6 stage.
“This is a massive step in our ambitions to elevate women’s cricket in the province”, commented Albertus Kennedy, the Chief Executive Officer of the Garden Route Badgers. “Our women’s team had an outstanding season in the top league last season and this step will be an additional inspiration to our women’s cricketers to be recognized as full professional players”, he concluded.
SA Women’s Cricket launch a new women’s league
Martelize van der Merwe (Head Coach of the Garden Route Badgers), Albertus Kennedy (CEO of the Garden Route Badgers), Pholetsi Moseke (CEO of Cricket South Africa), Ms Katrisha Strydom (Member of the Board of Directors of SWDC), Gary Moos (Cricket Services Manager at SWDC) and Jané Winster (the captain of the Garden Route Badgers) Photo: Supplied