WITH the England Women’s inbound tour getting underway in East London next week, coach Baakier Abrahams is going into his fourth bilateral series in charge of the Proteas women’s batting unit.
England Women will tour South Africa for a multi-format tour which includes three T20Is, three ODIs and a one-off Four-Day Test with the tour getting underway with the T20I series on Sunday, November 24 at Buffalo Park and concluding with the Test match from December 15 at Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein.
This will mark South Africa’s return to action since the disappointment of losing the T20 World Cup final to New Zealand Women in Dubai recently.
Having picked up the batting coach ropes in April when Sri Lanka Women toured South Africa, Abrahams feels he has come into a set-up that is filled with players who are hungry for knowledge and career growth.
Despite having been the Assistant coach of the Port Elizabeth based Warriors for various seasons and having never been a part of a professional women’s team before, Abrahams feels that the character of the players in the Proteas Women team have made his transition seamless.
“It’s been three series’ now and a World Cup. When you haven’t worked in that space before, obviously I’ve done one-on-ones with the ladies but never in a team environment, you are not 100% sure what you’re getting yourself into,” Abrahams told Independent Newspapers in an exclusive interview.
“I’ve been fortunate in that the ladies have welcomed me with open arms. Their hunger and desire for knowledge is quite high and that made my life a lot easier in terms of my role.”
Having been assistant coach for a number of years, Abrahams says the batting coach role has provided him with clarity in terms of the role that he has to play.
The coach added that the assistant roles that he has had have allowed him to be a well-rounded coach, a feat that he feels has helped him with his new role in the national team.
“There’s a lot of clarity now in terms of a specific role and it’s linked to batting. Previously, a lot of my roles were Assistant coach roles apart from the South Western District where I was the head coach,” he said.
“But also, when I have been an assistant coach, it allowed me to grow across all disciplines. It allowed me to put my batting, fielding and bowling hats on.
“Most importantly, it allowed me to put my own personality in the side in terms of connections with the players, building the relationships, showing empathy when it’s needed ad being firm when needed as well. It helped me to be a shoulder for the players to lean on and it shaped me as a person and as a coach.
“Now the main focus is the batting and that gives me a lot of clarity and a lot of responsibility and now people can hold you accountable to that specific skill and discipline where the other roles where a general role without any clear role.”
In his career, Abrahams has assisted the now Test bowling coach Piet Botha, Adrian Birrell and Robin Peterson. Abrahams feels all the coaches he has worked with have had an influence in his coaching style, the same style that has seen the Proteas Women’s batting unit grow in leaps and bounds.
“I’ve worked with a lot of really good coaches that have shaped my thinking, kept me up to date with what is required in the international space, shared their experiences when they were head coaches,” said Abrahams.
“I’ve got Russell (Domingo) in my doorstep in PE where we often sit, have some coffee and have a conversation. Shukri Conrad has also been influential around my thinking on batting and cricket in general. Robbie P as well in terms of his tactical mind and just how thinks about the game which is so dynamic.”