When South Africa reached the final of the Women's T20 World Cup in October, batter Chloe Tryon said their goal was to "unite the country". It seemed like a monumental expectation for a group of cricketers representing a country of almost 60 million people - but a reminder that while sport can change lives anywhere in the world, in the Rainbow Nation it can change an entire country. So far, it has been achieved by rugby on four occasions.
The first, in 1995, saw captain Francois Pienaar lifting the trophy alongside Nelson Mandela for one of sport's most iconic moments, and in 2019 saw Siya Kolisi triumph as the country's first black captain. Cricket is yet to etch itself into the history books, generally delivering heartbreak as it did last month, with the Proteas women losing their second successive T20 final and following the men's defeat by India earlier in the year. Given that context, it is unsurprising that for spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba, the pain of losing will take some time to overcome.
"We're still trying to find our feet, because we just don't really know what we did wrong," said Mlaba, 24. "I felt like we had the World Cup but I don't know what happened to us on the day. But, we are going to come back and hopefully bring the trophy home soon.
" Mlaba's performances in the tournament were exceptional: she took 12 wickets, which was bettered only by New Zealander Melie Kerr's 15. Her efforts, including 4-29 against West Indies in the group stages, led South Africa to .
