Former South Africa captain Dane van Niekerk‘s chances of playing at the upcoming T20 World Cup may have been dealt a blow after she was not named in the squad to face India at home. Van Niekerk is still recovering from a calf injury which ruled her out of last month’s series in New Zealand. That means she has played only five T20Is since reversing her international retirement last year, none away from home.
Still, van Niekerk is a highly-experienced player for South Africa, with 91 caps in T20Is. It is expected that, if fit, she will be considered for selection for the tournament, which starts on June 12.
An automatic pick is her wife Marizanne Kapp, who is also not in the squad as she continues to recover from illness. Kapp missed the New Zealand series too, and last played for South Africa against Pakistan, at home in February.
Also out of the squad is teenage wicketkeeper-batter Karabo Meso, who has played in eight T20Is. Meso has a wrist injury and her absence has created an opening for uncapped keeper Tebogo Macheke. Sinalo Jafta remains South Africa’s first-choice behind the stumps.
Allrounder Eliz-Mari Marx, who recently lost her national contract has been recalled to the squad in place of experienced seamer Masabata Klaas. The rest of the attack remains the same as the one that toured New Zealand with Ayabonga Khaka to lead the pace contingent and left-am seamer Nonkululeko Mlaba headlining the spin contingent.
Top-order batter Anneke Bosch, who replaced van Niekerk in New Zealand, keeps her place in the squad, as does exciting allrounder Kayla Reyneke. The former South African Under-19 captain won two Player-of-the-Match awards in her first four T20Is and has a strike rate of 168.29 in the format.
Significantly, South Africa have made changes to their support staff and have released batting coach Baakier Abrahams, fielding coach Bongani Ndaba, and strength and conditioning coach Zane Webster as part of what a CSA statement called “planned transition within the national setup.”
Andrew Puttick, who played one ODI for South Africa, had a significant domestic career and was the batting coach of Afghanistan, takes over as batting coach while Tumi Masekela, who has worked with the men’s national side, will do the strength and conditioning job. Mduduzi Mbatha, former men’s coach at Northern Cape Heat (a division 2 team in South Africa’s domestic set-up) is the new fielding coach. Puttick, Masekela and Mbatha will work in interim capacity until the end of the T20 World Cup, after which permanent appointments will be made.
South Africa will be keen to bounce back after a chastening visit to New Zealand, where they lost the T20I series 4-1. As two-time T20 World Cup finalists, expectation is growing on them to go one step further. The five-match series against India is their last assignment before the T20 World Cup.
“It is a quick turnaround, for sure, but a T20I series against India at home will always be special,” Mandla Mashimbyi, the head coach, said. “The group remains largely the same for this tour. While we have learnt a lot about ourselves as a team on the recent trip to New Zealand, we are also very excited to get back on the field and express our eagerness to grow and improve with every game and training session.”
The five matches will be played over 11 days, starting on Friday. Kingsmead in Durban will host the first two games, the Wanderers in Johannesburg the next two and the series will conclude in Benoni on April 27.
South Africa Women squad for India T20Is
Laura Wolvaardt (captain), Anneke Bosch, Tazmin Brits, Nadine de Klerk, Annerie Dercksen, Ayanda Hlubi, Sinalo Jafta, Ayabonga Khaka, Suné Luus, Tebogo Macheke, Eliz-Mari Marx, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Kayla Reyneke, Tumi Sekhukhune, Chloé Tryon
