Dane van Niekerk, South Africa’s former captain, is participating in ongoing pre-tournament training sessions but she is “definitely not part”of the upcoming World Cups, also coming out of retirement. Mandla Mashimbyi, National coach, confirmed that “when she ticks all the boxes”, then van Niekerk will be considered for future tournaments.
Most probably, van Niekerk, aged 32, will not be part of another ODI World Cup, as she also missed the 2022 World Cup because of her broken ankle. She participated in the previous three editions, and in the 2017 World Cup, South Africa reached the semi-finals under her captaincy but unfortunately they faced a defeat against England.
She also appeared in seven T20 World Cups but unluckily she couldn’t join the home event in 2023 because she failed to match the fitness criteria of Cricket South Africa’s (CSA). At that time she declared her retirement from international cricket.
Then Van Niekerk returned to domestic cricket and also reversed her international retirement decision. And she was called up for a long week training camp, including 20 players in Durban for the selection of squad for upcoming South Africa’s World Cup. But she couldn’t make her selection to the final fifteen-player squad that will be declared next week.
“She’s just part of the bigger or broader base of players that we’re trying to bring into our environment,” Mashimbyi said. “She’s definitely not part of this World Cup. She’s not going.”
“We wanted to bring her in and actually expose her to the environment so that she can understand what the expectations are,” Mashimbyi said. “Hopefully she can carry on from here onwards and really understand how she wants to go about things. And then one day when she gets a call up, you know, she can come in and have an impact immediately.”
During the 2023 T20 World Cup, Van Niekerk was left out of the competition because she was not able to run two kilometres under 9:30 but now running times are not part of the selection criteria. This time CSA left the selection decisions to the Coach and convener’s discretion but still it is admitted by Van Niekerk that fitness standards should be maintained on high levels.
“I’ve seen the standards in the last two years. I’ve been in and around the team, commentating and even though I was really not involved I knew how the team was evolving when it comes to the physical sides of things,” she said. “There’s a massive difference from two years ago. The players have evolved, got stronger, smarter you can really see the work ethic around the group as well.”
“This is almost a baseline for me to really gauge where I’m at when it comes to the physical side, when it comes to the skill side, and all those things. Hopefully, I can have a clearer view after this camp. I’d know with the conversations we’ve had where I need to be in the next few months.” She added further.
