Dane van Niekerk was never part of the World Cup picture - Proteas coach Mandla Mashimbyi
Dane van Niekerk (pictured) was not included in South Africa’s Women’s Cricket World Cup squad despite reversing her retirement, as confirmed by Proteas coach Mandla Mashimbyi, who emphasised her future role in the team. Picture: BackpagePix
Image: BackpagePix
Although Dane van Niekerk reversed her decision to retire from international cricket just before the Women’s Cricket World Cup (CWC) squad announcement, the Proteas batter was never part of South Africa’s plans for the event.
This is according to Proteas women’s coach Mandla Mashimbyi, who spoke about the matter as the 15-player squad was announced at a press conference in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
Van Niekerk’s name had been in the news just a week ago as she confirmed her decision, and then joined a Proteas women’s training camp in Durban.
Naturally, the speculation was that Van Niekerk could be in line for CWC selection for the tournament scheduled to begin at the end of the month, jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka.
Van Niekerk’s Future with the Team Despite World Cup Exclusion
When asked why Van Niekerk was not picked, Mashimbyi said: “I was expecting that question. Just from my side, I think when we went to the camp, the squad was already done [selected].
“So in terms of us taking the Dane with us, something drastic should happen for that to happen. But in terms of the plans that we had for the World Cup, she wasn’t part of those plans.”
Mashimbyi, however, pointed out that the 32-year-old Van Niekerk , who has played almost 200 matches for her country, will still be a part of their future plans.
“So the reason for us to actually bring her to the camp was for us to see where she is with her game, and everything else that would matter to us or our ecosystem, to see if she would be ready going forward or if she would have the right skills to come into our team and actually have an impact.
“But the World Cup was not one of those chats that we had with her.”