Cape Town - The Proteas Women’s Team has thanked fans who came out in their numbers to support them at the Women’s T20 World Cup final at Newlands on Sunday.
The team, which lost to Australia, said they were grateful for the support.
Sunday’s final saw over 14 000 fans in attendance.
Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, who hosted the women’s team at City Hall on Sunday, said their performance at the tournament put women’s cricket firmly on the map.
The Proteas team is the first senior national cricket team to progress to an ICC World Cup final.
“Many people have never watched a women’s cricket match before and I think now they will tune in regularly to see this cricket team playing,” he said.
“Every single day, women’s sport is becoming a more professional sport, previously women would struggle to earn a living out of professional sport.
“But more and more women can do that now, and if you are a young girl in our city who is passionate about sport, I will say go for it. These ladies have shown us that it can be done, “ Hill-Lewis said.
The team’s captain, Suné Luus, said the team worked hard to prepare for the tournament and hoped they made everyone proud.
“The team has had an incredible journey in the last couple of weeks, obviously we work extremely behind the scenes to be ready for a tournament like this.
“A very special thanks for all the support and we hope we have made everyone proud,” she said.
The team’s left-hand top order, Lara Goodall, said they were overwhelmed by the support.
“It was nice to see so many people coming to support us.
“Newlands was full even after the finals.
“We lost but seeing people coming out in their thousands to support us was amazing and we really appreciate that.
“We hope that people will continue to support us this way,” Goodall said.
Cultural Affairs and Sport MEC, Anroux Marais, said support for the women’s teams picked up with full crowds supporting the match.
“We have seen a fantastic two weeks of women’s cricket being played in the province. It is clear that support for our women’s teams has really picked up and it was great to see full crowds supporting these matches.
“The Momentum Proteas have raised the profile of women’s sport in our country and we must champion for equal opportunities and equal payment for our female athletes,” she said.
Deputy Minister of Arts and Culture, Nocawe Mafu, said President Cyril Ramaphosa also sent his well wishes and hoped to host the team soon.
“From the Minister of Arts and Culture and myself, we really want to say you have done very well and have made our country proud,” Mafu said.
Cape Times