Being a part of growing profile has been rewarding, says South Africa coach Hilton Moreeng

South Africa coach Hilton Moreeng admitted that being a part of growing the profile of women’s cricket in the country has been the most rewarding aspect of his job despite the challenges that it brings along. He has been associated with the Proteas set-up for eight years and been rewarded with a three-year contract extension recently for his outstanding contributions.



“Being part of growing the profile of women’s cricket in the country and to be a witness to so many of the individual milestones reached by so many players and the team,” Moreen was quoted as saying to gsport.co.za. “Us reaching the World Cup semi-finals in both formats has been exceptionally rewarding to me as a coach. This is a true testament that hard work does pay off.”



The 42-year-old has been a vital pillar in the South Africa cricket and under his guidance, the side have made a massive stride at the global stage. He successfully guided South Africa to the semi-finals of ICC T20 World Cups in 2014 and 2020, and also in the ICC Women’s World Cup in 2017.



“There are many challenges faced with budgets and resources as this (women’s cricket) is a growing profile,” he added. He also stated that regardless of gender, women’s cricket needs support as it will lead to a wider audience in the country and eventually in the world. “Ultimately, cricket, like any other sport, is an exhibition of skill and talent and spectatorship speaks to the appreciation thereof, regardless of the gender of the person(s) playing the sport,” Moreeng said.



“With that being said, it is not a secret that viewership in cricket, particularly in the men’s game, is predominantly male, with the number of women watching the sport on the rise. Therefore, it is particularly important that the women’s game receives as much support – male or female – as this will not only lead to a much-needed wider interest in the women’s game in South Africa.”



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It has been a good year for South Africa as per as performances are concerned. While they finished in the top four in the T20 World Cup, prior to that the Dane van Niekerk side also whitewashed New Zealand, 3-0 in ODIs, to finish in the third place with 25 points behind Australia (39) and England (27) in the ICC Women’s Championship helping them gain automatic qualification for next year’s World Cup.



Mooreng, who decided to get involved in women’s sport just because he can make a difference to a sport he loves, also felt that the structure of women’s cricket in the country should be improved. “Improvement of females structures in the country. It would be my vision to see the game being played professionally at the provincial level which would be a catalyst for a healthy pipeline,” he said.



“We are moving in the right direction. We do understand that there is still much to do in improving the domestic structures as well as the inclusion of girls of all ages playing in school leagues,” added Moreeng, when asked about the advancement at grassroots level.