South Africa coach Mandla Mashimbyi insists his side will learn valuable lessons from crashing out of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup to England in the semi-final stage
The Proteas were outclassed in a final four matchup at The Oval on Thursday, with the tournament hosts moving through to Sunday’s title decider against Australia with an impressive 40-run triumph over Mashimbyi’s charges
England book their place in the final with a dominant victory over South Africa | Match Highlights | Women’s T20WC 2026
England beat South Africa by 40 runs and marched into the final of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026
There were glimpses of South Africa’s best as they made early inroads with three quick wickets, but a century partnership from Nat Sciver-Brunt and Heather Knight swung the momentum back into the hosts’ favour much to the chagrin of Mashimbyi
“You just lose and you learn,” Mashimbyi said after the semi-final defeat to England
“And we’ve learned a lot in this World Cup, and we’re going to make sure that we go back to the drawing board and make sure that we put things in place that’s going to make us even more dangerous, even better as a team.
“We know where our gaps are, and that’s the only thing we can do really. We can’t change the results.
“It’s about the work that we put in going forward and make sure that when we get an opportunity to play World Cup again or ICC Trophy tournament, we are sitting at the same table as other teams.”
Tazmin Brits’ fighting half-century | Player Highlights | Women’s T20WC 2026
There were plenty of positives for South Africa throughout their T20 World Cup campaign, with hard-hitting right-hander Tazmin Brits scoring 225 runs and pace duo Marizanne Kapp and Shabmim Ismail each collecting eight wickets across the six matches to showcase their talents
Ismail had reversed her retirement decision to play for the Proteas at the T20 World Cup and Mashimbyi is expecting the talented 37-year-old to continue to make herself available at international level
“I think she’s still in for the long haul,” Mashimbyi said
“She’s going to have to make a decision. But as we stand, she’s still a Proteas player.”
Shabnim Ismail lands the first blow | Women’s T20WC 2026
Shabnim Ismail makes early inroads in her first over, dismissing Amy Jones at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026
Mashimbyi dismissed the notion that his side were too reliant on the new-ball pairing of Kapp and Ismail, but admitted they may have missed the chance to provide support for front-line spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba
“I think we had too much of the same type of bowlers and teams could work out what we’re trying to do,” he said
“Shabnim and Kapp can put any team under pressure with a new ball, and that’s what we’ve been doing.
“And now obviously the biggest thing is to go back and go back to the drawing board and make sure that we put processes in place to make sure that we’ve got players that are coming through that are going to do, if not similar, or better.”
ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, 2026NewsWomen’s NewsSouth Africa Women
