NEWS
Follow UsSouth Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt believes red-ball cricket needs to be incorporated into the domestic system, or the format should not be played at the international level at all.
Wolvaardt, who will lead South Africa in the one-off Test against India, starting June 28 (Friday), stated that it is tough to play Test cricket right after a white-ball series, especially when they do not have a first-class system in place for them back home.
"It's obviously a challenge for most of us having any sort of preparation in the format," Wolvaardt said in the pre-match press conference.
"Just coming straight into an international multi-day game is difficult. For example, balls that I've been cover-driving my whole life, I now need to leave, which is difficult for me because it just happens on instinct and I have to fight the way that I've been batting for my entire career.
"I think either we need to play a lot more Test cricket and incorporate it into our domestic practice and training, or we must just leave it because playing one in three years is very hard to adapt to. But I'm on the side to have more of it."
South Africa Women currently play in the CSA Women's Provincial 50-over tournament and T20s, but Wolvaardt hopes there are talks held within Cricket South Africa (CSA) of the women playing the longest format as well.
"I haven't been part of any such conversations, but I'm hoping that it is a conversation higher up," she said.
"If we want to give ourselves the best chance to win these games internationally, we have to do some sort of preparation at a domestic level. Just coming straight into an international Test match is tough with no red-ball experience in the squad."
South Africa will be playing three Tests in a year for the first time since 1972. They played Australia in February, now have the India Test ahead of them, and later this year, they will play another Test at home against England. The Test against England will be South Africa's first at home since 2002.
"I think getting opportunity to play more Test cricket is awesome and something that a lot of our girls are really looking forward to is playing more Tests," Wolvaardt, who has played two Tests for her country, said.
"Obviously having three scheduled in a calendar year is pretty cool and something that I've wanted to see for a long time. I personally really enjoy the format and would love to see more of it. I think this Test will be a huge challenge for us. And hopefully, we're able to adapt to the conditions."
The opening batter admits that it is a challenge to bat on spin-friendly wickets like the one in Chepauk, which is something that they are not used to back at home.
"Batting-wise, it is going to be a big challenge for our group," she said.
"I think obviously it's very different to conditions that we've been used to and exposed to at home, but thankfully we do have a few talented spinners within our squad as well. I think players like Nonkululeko Mlaba would sort of be licking her lips. Hopefully, they're able to put on a good show and be consistent and tight with their areas."
South Africa enter the Test match on the back of a 3-0 whitewash in the ODI series against India and will hope to turn things around in whites.
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