Story audio is generated using AI
Eastern Province Senior Women’s coach Nkululeko Serame believes instilling belief in his players and creating an environment in which they can thrive played a major role in the side securing promotion to the top tier of South African women’s domestic cricket.
Serame said this after EP sealed promotion to Division One of the CSA Women’s domestic structure following a dominant One-Day Cup campaign.
Competing in a 10-team Division Two setup split into two groups of five, the Gqeberha side showed consistency across both formats.
In the T20 competition, EP won three of their four matches but finished behind Boland and Easterns, who secured the top two positions.
However, the T20 competition did not count towards promotion.
It was in the One-Day Cup where EP truly excelled.
They went unbeaten throughout the competition and secured promotion with a game to spare.
According to Serame, EP earned bonus points in every victory.
“I am quite pleased with the outcome because we worked hard and put a lot of effort into our preparations,” he said.
“When I started my three-year tenure, we were given a mandate to get to the top division in that time.
“But I had seen the level of the players and the skills they had, so I was confident we could do it in two.”
Serame said extensive off-season preparation before the 2025/2026 campaign played an important role in the team’s success.
“We worked tirelessly during the off-season to get the ladies to a level we were happy with, and I felt confident we would compete for promotion,” he said.
Another key factor was the willingness of players to embrace his ideas and buy into a culture of accountability.
“We went from being a team where people would sulk or complain when they were not picked to players coming to me and asking what they needed to do to get back into the side,” Serame said.
Creating a safe environment for players to grow had been central to his philosophy.
“People’s biggest fear is being judged. They worry about what the coach, newspapers or others will say.
“I wanted to create an environment where it is safe to make a mistake or have a bad day because, without that, we would not have seen the best of them on the field.”
Looking ahead to life in Division One, Serame backed his players to show they belonged among the country’s top provincial sides.
EP Cricket president Donovan May praised the achievement, saying promotion was a reward for years of consistency and hard work.
“EP Cricket is extremely proud of our ladies’ team, who have been promoted to the CSA Division One professional league,” May said.
“It is exciting to have another Division One team in our fold, and we hope they receive the support they deserve from fans.
“Women’s cricket has seen a huge upswing, and this promotion will expose our ladies to a much bigger national stage.”
The Herald
Amir Chetty
www.theherald.co.za