Mandla Mashimbyi: Dane van Niekerk not going to World Cup with Proteas Women

Proteas Women’s coach Mandla Mashimbyi has clarified that former captain Dane van Niekerk is not part of South Africa’s plans for next month’s ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.

Van Niekerk, who retired from international cricket under controversial circumstances a few years ago, made her first return to the national set-up this week during the ongoing training camp in Durban.

Given the subcontinent conditions — which typically favour spin-bowling all-rounders like Van Niekerk — her presence in camp had sparked speculation that she might make a sensational comeback for the global showpiece.

However, speaking to the media on Wednesday, Mashimbyi put those rumours to rest, stating that the former skipper would not be heading to the World Cup.

“She’s just part of the bigger or broader base of players that we're trying to bring into our environment,” said Mashimbyi.“She’s definitely not part of this World Cup. She’s not going to be going.”

Mashimbyi added that while Van Niekerk isn’t in the immediate plans, her inclusion in the camp signals that she remains in consideration post-World Cup — but like everyone else, she’ll need to earn her place.

“I think it would be false of us not to think that Dane is an important cog in the bigger scheme of things in terms of cricket in South Africa. She’s played for a long time, and she was successful doing that.

“The experience she brings is something we will miss for a long time. So, bringing a player like that back into the environment was a no-brainer.”

“She’s like any other player now. She needs to work her way up again. She needs to earn her place as well.”

The Proteas coach further emphasised that Van Niekerk is being reintegrated to help her reconnect with the team culture and performance standards.

“Just bringing her in and exposing her to the environment means she can understand what the expectations are. Hopefully, she can carry on from here, figure out how she wants to go about things, and when she gets a call-up, she can come in and have an impact immediately.”

“When she ticks all the boxes, she’ll get an opportunity to play and showcase her skills again.”

South Africa are set to tour Pakistan next month for an ODI series as part of their World Cup preparations, and the squad announcement is expected in early September.

Mashimbyi stressed that hosting the current camp in Durban was a strategic move due to the similarity in pitch conditions to what the team will face in India and Sri Lanka.

“Durban is the closest we have in South Africa to conditions in India and Sri Lanka. It was a no-brainer for us to come here,” he said.

“We’re using the same type of strips. They’ll turn a bit, they’ll slow down — and that was part of the plan.

“It teaches players to adapt to different conditions and understand how they can be effective in them.”

The Proteas Women will begin their World Cup campaign against England Women on October 3.

FOR THE RECORD

This post originally and erroneously stated that Proteas Women’s player Dane van Niekerk would not be considered for the ICC T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka in September. 

This statement is incorrect, as Van Niekerk will not be considered for the Women’s Cricket World Cup in those counties next month, while she reintegrates back into the Proteas Women national setup. 

We apologise to Van Niekerk and our readers for the error.