Dane van Niekerk has been left out of South Africa’s T20 World Cup squad, with Sune Luus named as the team’s captain. Van Niekerk, who has been a regular member of the South African women’s cricket team, was not included in the final squad for the tournament, which is set to take place in February and March of 2023. Luus, who has been a consistent performer for the team, has been named as the new captain and will lead the team in the T20 World Cup.
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“Dane was given an extensive opportunity to meet the minimum criteria for the fitness benchmark,” Clinton du Preez, women’s selection convener said on Tuesday. "She recently did another fitness test and did not meet the minimum criteria and that’s why she has missed out.
“Dane did not meet the minimum requirement for the 2-kilometre time trial. The management assisted her into trying to get there but she did not meet the minimum requirement. The skill set of Dane as a cricketer will always be missed on the cricket field. We have reminded her of that. We also appreciate the effort she tried to put into meeting the fitness level.”
South Africa Women squad for T20 World Cup : Sune Luus (capt), Chloe Tryon (vice-capt), Anneke Bosch, Tazmin Brits, Nadine de Klerk, Lara Goodall, Shabnim Ismail, Sinalo Jafta, Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka, Masabata Klaas, Laura Wolvaardt, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Delmi Tucker, Annerie Dercksen.
Non-traveling reserves : Micaéla Andrews, Tebogo Macheke, Tumi Sekhukhune