Hilton Moreeng, after 12 years as the South African women’s head coach, has stepped down with immediate effect.
The Proteas will have an interim coach, Dillon du Preez, for the South African tour of India starting on June 16. The tour will consist of 3 ODIs, a Test match, and 3 T20 matches to be played in Bengaluru and Chennai.
The T20 series is part of the Proteas’ preparation plans for the T20 World Cup, which will be held in Bangladesh in October. The groups were finalized this week, with South Africa playing England in their first match, alongside West Indies and Scotland.
With Moreeng’s sudden departure, preparations for the T20 World Cup are now uncertain for the 2023 finalists. Moreeng’s departure has left the Proteas in a state of uncertainty, exacerbated by Cricket South Africa’s inability to find his replacement.
Since the Proteas reached the T20 World Cup final in 2023, Moreeng has been coaching the Proteas women on an interim basis. He has been in charge for over a year in an interim capacity, which was not ideal for both Coach Moreeng and the team.
Some players requested a change in the Proteas coaching staff about a year ago, leading to Sune Luus stepping down as the Proteas captain. Despite reaching the T20 World Cup final, Moreeng had lost the dressing room.
However, CSA put him in an uncomfortable position by allowing him to continue coaching a team that no longer wanted him. While the players did not have personal issues with the head coach, they believed that after 10 years at the helm, they needed a coach with new ideas and philosophies.
“I would like to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude to Hilton Moreeng for his unwavering commitment and exceptional service to the Proteas Women’s team since 2012. Hilton’s contributions have been instrumental in shaping the team’s success, and his leadership has been invaluable. We extend our best wishes to Hilton for the remainder of his current contract, and I am confident that he will continue to steer the team towards greater heights,” said CSA Director of Cricket Enoch Nkwe after renewing Moreeng’s contract for the 2023/24 season, following the failure to find his replacement.
South Africans were promised changes at the top, but these changes never materialized. Moreeng was tasked with inbound and outbound tours against Pakistan, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Australia, and Sri Lanka. At this time, it was expected that Moreeng would step down at the end of the 2023/24 season. However, the season did not end well for him, as the Proteas failed to win an ODI series in 2024. They lost to Australia and drew against Sri Lanka. During a T20 World Cup year, the Proteas lost both T20 series played against Australia and Sri Lanka, respectively, with the loss against Sri Lanka, particularly painful as it occurred at home.
With still no word on Moreeng’s replacement, CSA assumed that Moreeng’s loyalty and commitment to the Proteas would drive him to lead the team to India and the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh.
However, CSA did not account for Moreeng’s mental health. He had reached his limits, hence his resignation a month prior to the tour of India. This is a coach who had been considering resigning, even though he may have still harbored ambitions to achieve more.
Resigning a month prior was well-planned, as he knew that had he waited any longer, his morals would have compelled him to take the Proteas to India. This tour is important, and with current circumstances, CSA appears disorganized.
“As Dillon du Preez steps in as interim coach, we offer him, the management, and the team our full support as they head into their next international assignments. We have full confidence in Dillon’s abilities to continue the momentum and uphold the standards set for the side.”
Du Preez won’t need to make many changes; the squad is settled for the tour, and the team is familiar with him. However, after this tour, the team will need satisfactory answers as the World Cup is only a few months away.
“The process of recruiting for a new coach is already underway. Our intention is to find the best candidate and ensure a smooth transition to take the Proteas Women to greater heights,” said Nkwe.
It’s going to be interesting because over a year, CSA could not find an adequate replacement for Moreeng. With Moreeng resigning on Mother’s Day weekend, CSA now seems to be implementing processes to find a replacement. There is no head coach, yet Nkwe is stating there will be a smooth transition.
In the end, Moreeng has finished his tenure as South Africa’s most successful first-team coach in ICC events. He reached the semi-finals of the World Cup and the final of the T20 World Cup. He won matches in Australia and a series in India. Perhaps he should have resigned after the T20 World Cup at the peak of his career, as his last assignment boosted Sri Lanka’s morale ahead of the T20 World Cup qualifiers in Dubai.
Four6Out 