Windies women’s coach fondly recalls Border days

Drakes is currently in charge of the West Indies women’s team taking on the Proteas in a three-match ODI series and a three-match T20 series in South Africa.

“It is great to be back. I have kept in touch with many of the guys on this side and I had an opportunity to see Pieter Strydom, my captain and Piet Botha, who was my opening bowler, and getting the opportunity to see the guys after so long is quite refreshing.

“I have enjoyed reminiscing about my time at Border. I had some fantastic times here and we played some really good cricket.

“East London has been one of my favourite places in South Africa.

“I am always happy to be back.”

Border had developed a link with the West Indies by the time Drakes arrived to play for them, and had already seen a few players come through.

“Border traditionally started to develop a relationship with the West Indians as we had players such as Emmerson Trotman and Otis Gibson who came and played here and they would have made that recommendation to the clubs, so it was easy for them to buy into me becoming their overseas professional,” Drakes said.

During his time with Border, Drakes played with a number of players who would go on to become national legends, and this was part of the reason he stayed on for so long.

“I think one of the main reasons I stayed on for so long was I felt a moral obligation to players like Makhaya Ntini and at a later stage Monde Zondeki, who I actually tried to mentor, and young Mark Boucher, who was also in the ranks during my time at Border.”

“I had an opportunity to pass on my information and share my experience with those guys and I, as an overseas player, would have made my contribution in helping them become fantastic cricketers and leaders of South Africa.”

It is an important tour for the team as the points from the ODI series count towards the ICC Women’s Cricket Challenge, which is the initial qualification round for the 2017 Women’s Cricket World Cup.

The T20 matches will then also be important in building momentum, as the West Indies and Proteas both head straight into the T20 World Cup in India, following the culmination of the series.

“We are travelling straight from South Africa into the T20 World Cup in India, so we want to get as much match practice and preparation that we can get out of the two series to ensure we have the best possible chance of doing well in the competition,” said Drakes.

The West Indies got the series off to a perfect start when they managed to beat the Proteas by 16 runs in the first match on Wednesday.

Drakes saw his charges clinch the series with a game to spare when they beat the Proteas in the second match by 57 runs at Buffalo Park on Saturday.

It is a sort of homecoming for Drakes, as the whole ODI series played at Buffalo Park is a ground Drakes knows very well, having played on it for the best part of six years when he represented the Border Bears.

Drakes joined the Bears in 1996 and played in the team until about 2002.

“Certainly, from my perspective, we have some knowledge from me playing in East London and if we can utilise that information I gathered playing at Border it can work in our favour,” he said earlier.