South Africa announces 15-member squad for Women’s T20 World Cup, Van Niekerk to lead

 

2020 is going to be huge for Women’s Cricket because one of the world’s biggest tournaments – ICC Women’s T20 World Cup – will take place in October in Australia. Every team is now gearing up to make a team that could win them that prestigious trophy and South Africa is no different.

The Rainbow Nation has unveiled the 15-member squad for the upcoming tournament and it seems to be the perfect mix of the experienced and youngsters all set to take their nation to an amazing cricketing journey.

Interestingly, the South African side will be led by explosive all-rounder Dane Van Niekerk. There is no doubt that Van Niekerk is one of the best all-rounders of all-time but the reason why the announcement seems a bit surprising is that she has not played a single T20 game since February last year.

The decision was to take after seeing her performances in the recently concluded Women’s Big Bash League where she scored 125 runs in 11 games and picked up nine wickets too. Meanwhile, T20 Internationals, Van Niekerk has played 76 games and scored more than 1650 runs at a strike-rate of 95. She also has 58 wickets to her name with an impressive economy rate of 5.46.

 

Team’s head coach Hilton Moreeng is quite impressed with the side and it is a team that holds their ground against any opposition. He also assured that the players will be given all the right tools to shine on the grandest stage.

“It’s a group that has the talent, youth, experience and desire to help us win the T20 World Cup. The players we have at our disposal are some of the best and most promising players in women’s cricket globally and we will make sure that we give them the best tools to succeed on this big stage,” Hilton Moreeng said.

Players like Sane Luus, Lizelle Lee, Marizanne Kapp, and Shabnim Ismail will also be crucial for the team’s success in the tournament.

The acting director of Cricket South Africa, Graeme Smith, also wished the team and noted that he knows the team will do everything to make the nation proud. The Proteas will start their World Cup campaign with a match against England on February 23.

Squad: Dane Van Niekerk (c), Laura Wolvaardt, Lizelle Lee, Mignon Du Preez, Marizanne Kapp, Sune Luus, Chloe Tryon (vc), Shabnim Ismail, Ayabonga Khaka, Masabata Klaas, Tumi Sekhukhune, Trisha Chetty, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Nadine De Klerk, and Nondumiso Shangase.