DUBAI: Chloe Tryon was over the moon. After all, she had taken a stunner to dismiss Australian captain Meg Lanning at the packed Newlands Stadium in the 2023 T20 World Cup final. With a shortish ball from Marizanne Kapp on offer, Lanning had almost nailed a pull shot before Tryon sprinted from deep backward square leg to complete the catch. Such was the occasion that she roared her heart out facing the crowd who had turned the stadium into a South African party.
If that was the peak of her career, a few hours later, she witnessed probably one of the biggest gut punches ever when the World Cup trophy slipped away. It became a reality when the same Lanning lifted the T20 World Cup trophy for the 4th time in the backdrop of Table Mountain. It wasn’t to be for South Africa.
However, as luck would have it, Tryon and South Africa are getting ready to face Australia again. This time in the semi-final of the 2024 T20 World Cup at the Dubai International Stadium. Many things have changed and for the better. While the respect for their opponents is still there, this time South Africa and Tryon believe. For they have beaten this unit in the shortest format earlier this year.
“They are reigning champions for a reason. They have shown time and again in pressure situations they find a way,” Tryon told this daily. “We understand as a team that we’ve beaten them before. We know that feeling. We know the level that we want to play. We want to make sure that we play like that against them every single game. I feel like if we can focus on those positives of how we approach the game, how we went about it, how we better ourselves as the team and as players, that’s the mindset you want to kind of be in. I always feel like the team that stays calm on the day finds a way. Those key moments in a game can just switch,” she added.
As the hosts, South Africa were not able to cross the final line in 2023. They had to scrape their way through it. Tryon believes that built the character. Now, they are able to get through similar situations, having experienced what it feels like to survive tense moments.
“We feel like we’ve been improving as a team. With our backs against the wall in the World Cup in South Africa, we showed a lot of character. One of the big words is showing character. We still have senior players who have been to plenty of World Cups to understand the pressure that there is at these tournaments,” Tryon mentioned.
They can really help the youngsters that have come in now that are maybe just a little bit nervous. I think for us as seniors it is also to try and lead from the front. Some young ones in the team make us feel a little bit old (laughs) but it has been nice to have some new energy and some really young talent,” she added.
While the experienced heads of the squad have been able to help the young guns get through these moments, it has not come easy for them, especially for Tryon who had her fair share of injuries. The worst of them is a recurring back injury. Now in a better health condition than before she is grateful for those who helped her get through the tough times.
"It was very tough. I think any injury is tough on a person. I think my family gets the brunt of it, but I think they've been so supportive of me and they really helped me just feel every emotion I felt in the town. You feel a thousand things, but they kind of just helped me narrow down what I need to feel. Then as soon as I can get back on the ground running, I know I need to go with it. I've got to work with really good people back home. For me, the main focus was the World Cup. In my mind, it was always one game time. You can practice as much as you want, but playing games is going to help," Tryon says with much more perspective on life.
When South Africa made it to the home final, they made a big dent in that invisible glass ceiling for women's sports in the country. In a Rugby-mad country, it was a special occasion as even Siya Kholisi, the Springboks captain was in the audience to support the women's team. Tryon has always felt the love from her people and believes that sport means different to South Africans. It has the capacity to unite the country.
"I absolutely love playing for my country. We are the rainbow nation. We are a diverse country. I feel like sports really pulls us together. People look at everyone as their brothers and sisters. We want to bring the country together. We looked at that in the final in 2023. We had a sold-out stadium at Newlands for the final and people were just there backing us. People want to watch us play and they're so passionate so it's amazing to see. We want to make them proud again."
Not many get the chance at redemption. Very few get to do that at this level. On Thursday, Tryon and South Africa have their date with destiny. Maybe this is the time to break that glass ceiling at home once and for all.
