Wandile Gwavu appointed South Africa’s white-ball fielding coach on full-time basis

Cricket South Africa (CSA) on Friday announced that Wandile Gwavu has been appointed the fielding coach for the Proteas men’s white-ball setup. Gwavu, 36, took charge of the fielding during South Africa’s limited-overs tours against West Indies and the Netherlands in the recent home summer.

Now he joins Rob Walter’s team on a full-time basis alongside batting coach JP Duminy, especially with the ODI World Cup set to happen in India in October-November this year.

“We are pleased to confirm Wandile as the fielding coach for the Proteas Men’s limited-overs team. He brings a wealth of experience at the highest level in South African cricket with a coaching career that speaks volumes.”

“With the fine margins and the ever-increasing stakes in 50-over and T20 cricket, fielding has become a critical part of any successful team and we strongly believe Wandile’s expertise will help the Proteas maintain their strong tradition of fielding excellence across both formats.”

“Wandile also permanently joins the set-up during an exciting period as the team transition into a crucial preparatory phase ahead of the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in India later this year,” said Enoch Nkwe, CSA Director of Cricket, in a statement.

Hailing from Cape Town kwa Langa, Gwavu played age-group cricket for Eastern Province and was part of their Academy before he took up coaching. As head coach of DP World Lions since 2019, Gwavu was named Domestic Coach of the Season in his first year in charge.

He has since led the Highveld team to five titles in four seasons — the most by any Lions coach. He was also assistant coach to both the Jozi Stars (Mzansi Super League) and Jo’burg Super Kings (SA20) and enjoyed national coaching spells with the SAU19s and SA ‘A’ side.

Earlier this week, South Africa sealed the eighth and last automatic qualification spot for the 2023 Men’s ODI World Cup after the first match of the series between Bangladesh and Ireland was abandoned after persistent rain in Chelmsford.

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-IANS

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