Cricket South Africa extends Proteas women coach Hilton Moreeng's contract by three years

Cricket South Africa on Wednesday reappointed Hilton Moreeng as the head coach of the national women’s team, extending his contract by another three years.

The 42-year-old former wicket-keeper, who took up the role in 2012, had guided the women’s team to the semi-finals of this T20 World Cup early this year.

“To be given the chance to work with the women’s team again is an exciting opportunity. I want to thank Cricket South Africa for the confidence they’ve shown in me to be able to lead this talented group of cricketers into the next phase of their journey,” Moreeng said in a statement.

“When I first started, we had a number of young players with a lot of potential, now they’ve matured and have shown that they can compete with the best in the world.

“The next step is to make sure we compete for a top-three world ranking with the aim of winning silverware for South Africa.” Moreeng had also lead the team to the final four in the 2014 T20 World Cup and the 2017 World Cup.

With the 2021 ODI World Cup and 2022 T20 World Cup scheduled to be held in New Zealand and South Africa, Moreeng has been given a longer rope.

“Their recent performances in both white-ball formats have firmly established them as one of the top teams in the world as witnessed by their recent ODI tour to New Zealand and their performances against the world’s acknowledged leaders, Australia and England, at the recent T20 World Cup,” CSA director of cricket Graeme Smith said.

“Hilton and Dane van Niekerk have formed an impressive leadership team for the Proteas and Hilton’s reappointment also means there will be consistency on the road ahead. The Proteas are now well positioned to bid for that World Cup.”