Cricket South Africa appoints Dinesha Devnarain as women's U-19 coach

Cricket South Africa (CSA) on Monday appointed former player Dinesha Devnarain in a dual role as the first full-time Women's Under-19s and as the Women's National Academy head coach.

The 31-year-old, who has served as the assistant coach of the National Academy since 2017, signed a three-year deal commencing from April 2020.

Devnarain made her international debut in 2008 and played 29 One-Day Internationals and 22 T20Is before retiring in 2016.

Devnarain will oversee the Under-19s progress to the inaugural ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup. The event is scheduled to take place in Bangladesh, in early 2021.

Interim Chief Executive Officer of CSA, Jacques Faul said it is great news for the growth of women's cricket in the country.

"This is great news for the growth of women's cricket in South Africa. Part of empowering women within cricket is not only managing the player pipeline but by elevating female coaching staff, who will produce players that can perform at the highest level," CSA's official website quoted Faul as saying.

"As a former player, Dinesha understands the women's landscape and her pedigree proves itself," he added.

Expressing happiness over the appointment, Devnarian said: "I am extremely excited about the opportunity. It's a very important tier - being in between the provincial structures and the national team,"

"The one major positive about South African cricket is that there is a lot of talent and skill within our provincial structures. What I'm looking forward to is identifying players with potential and nurturing that potential in a high-performance environment," she added.