'She is going to give it her all,' says Mashimbyi as 35-year-old Kapp makes World Cup squad

WHEN a player of the calibre of Marizanne Kapp, 35, is still available for selection and shows good form, any team would build a playing XI around her.

Despite her age, with both bat and ball, Kapp is still head and shoulders above the rest, a feat that not only justifies her inclusion in the Proteas Women’s World Cup squad but also why head coach Mandla  Mashimbyi has high expectations for her leading into the showpiece event.

Though the expectations are high, Mashimbyi also acknowledges that the all-rounder is probably at the backend of her long career.

Mashimbyi also takes into account the amount of cricket that the veteran has had to play leading into the India-based ICC Women’s World Cup.

The head coach emphasised that Kapp is ready for the workload that lies ahead as the 35-year-old will potentially be required to bowl her 10 overs and bat in the top order.

“Marizanne is a player that’s got a lot of experience. To get 10 overs from her, for me, would be ultimate. It would be the thing that we need from her, and she is prepared to do that. We will push her until we can not push her (anymore),” Mashimbyi told the media on Wednesday. 

“The best that we can get from her whenever she can give it to us, we’ll take it. We’ve got a lot of other bowlers that can fill-in if she is not able to at times. We need to understand where she is with the game as well.

“She is probably the oldest member in the team and she plays a lot of cricket, we still need to manage that. She also understands that the most important thing is this World Cup so she’s going to give it her all. I’m looking to push her up and give her a little bit more responsibility with the bat.”

While the experienced Kapp is certainly on her way out of international cricket, 25-year-old Annerie Dercksen, a promising all-rounder, is shaping up to potentially fill her boots in the nearest future.

In the meantime, Dercksen is taking space in international cricket, having had an impressive tour of Sri Lanka earlier this year, where she finished as the top run scorer with an average of 92.

Mashimbyi revealed that Dercksen gives the team an element that most teams simply do not possess, leading into the World Cup later this month.

“The tour that she had in Sri Lanka was life-changing for her because she was our A batter on that tour. She just didn’t look like she was going to fail. She’s a serious cricketer,” said Mashimbyi.

“We carry a lot of things that a lot of teams don’t carry. What’s going to be important for us is to make sure that we go into every game with the right mindset.”

While Kapp, Dercksen and 13 other players made Mashimbyi’s 15-player squad, other promising players did not, including the young fast bowler Ayanda Hlubi.

Mashimbyi told the media that leaving Hlubi out was the hardest decision that he has had to make when selecting the squad.

“Ayanda, for me, was probably the hardest one to leave behind, but we also realise that Ayanda is one for the future,” he said. 

“The one thing that probably played against her was the conditions that we are going to face there and the type of bowlers that we have in the team. We had a lot of similar types of bowlers, we needed something different, and this is why we chose to mix it up a little bit more.”

The Proteas women’s team is set to fly out to Pakistan on September 11, where they will play three One Day Internationals before they start their World Cup campaign against England on October 3.

Proteas Women Squad - ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 & Pakistan Tour

Laura Wolvaardt (Captain), Anneke Bosch, Tazmin Brits, Nadine de Klerk, Annerie Dercksen, Sinalo Jafta, Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka, Masabata Klaas, Suné Luus, Karabo Meso, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Tumi Sekhukhune, Nondumiso Shangase, Chloé Tryon.

Travelling Reserve: Miané Smit