Dinesha Devnarain sets South Africa U-19 Women's T20 World Cup goal

'Don't need to shy away from saying it': Devnarain wants SA to win U-19 Women's T20 WC

Johannesburg, Oct 29

The third edition of the tournament will be played in Bangladesh and Nepal from January 21 to February 6 next year. South Africa, which hosted the inaugural edition in 2023 and finished runners-up in Malaysia in 2025, have been drawn in Group B with New Zealand, Samoa and Pakistan.

"Our ambition is to win the World Cup. I don't think we need to shy away from saying that. While our immediate ambition is to lift that trophy, our responsibility goes beyond January 2027. We want to develop future match-winning Proteas and leave South African women's cricket stronger than we found it," Dinesha said in a statement issued by Cricket South Africa (CSA) on Thursday.

Dinesha, the former Proteas player, who has guided the side through the last two World Cups, said the run to the 2025 final should serve as inspiration for the current group rather than pressure. "What 2025 showed us is that South African women's cricket belongs on the biggest stage. We have been there, we know it is possible, and that should inspire us.

"The motivation is not simply to get back to a final. It is to take the lessons from that experience, continue raising our standards and give this group every opportunity to go one step further," she added.

Dinesha described the group as challenging, though South Africa have some familiarity with all three opponents. "It's an exciting group and one that will challenge us in different ways.

"We have recently played Pakistan, so there is some familiarity there, while New Zealand and Samoa bring their own challenges. We faced both at the previous World Cup, but this is a new tournament with new players, and we certainly won't be taking anyone lightly."

The Proteas U-19 women's team beat Pakistan 3-2 in a Youth T20I series in Karachi in July, and Dinesha said the tour's biggest value lay in how it tested her players in subcontinent conditions.

"The Pakistan series was incredibly valuable for this group, and not simply because we won it 3-2. Playing in subcontinent conditions gave us valuable experience, but more importantly, it tested our decision-making, adaptability and ability to respond when things weren't going our way.

"For me, the biggest learning was that talent alone is not enough at the international level. You need game awareness, clarity and the ability to repeat your skills under pressure," she added.

With the tournament less than three months away, Dinesha said the squad had made good progress through a series of national camps, the latest in KwaZulu-Natal in September, but admitted there was still work to be done.

"I am really pleased with the progress we have made, especially when I look at where this group started and how much they have grown together. Our batting has shown encouraging progress, our bowling continues to be a strength, and we are becoming more intentional about how we train and measure our performance.

"However, we still need greater consistency, particularly in our powerplay batting, bowling discipline and fielding. We are certainly moving in the right direction, but we are not where we want to be just yet. And that's what makes this next phase so important."

South Africa open their campaign against Pakistan in Chattogram on January 22, before taking on Samoa on January 24 and New Zealand on January 26 at the same venue. The Super Six stage will run from January 27 to February 2, with the semi-finals and final scheduled for February 4 and 6 in Chattogram.

— IANS