Dané van Niekerk faces uncertain Proteas Women future

van Niekerk returned to international cricket last year after more than two years away, having retired in 2023 upon missing out on selection for the T20 World Cup at home that year. 

Her second coming hasn’t produced the results she had hoped for, and while she was part of the tournament this year in England, she was used sparingly by Mashimbyi. He says they’ll be having discussions with the former captain.

"As it stands, everybody who was involved in the T20 World Cup is still available for selection, bar one. We still need to chat with Dane to find out where she's at."

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Mashimbyi is already preparing for the eventuality that the likes of van Niekerk might be lost to the national team, which is reflected in the squad selection for the upcoming tour of Zimbabwe. He says the youngsters need to get international experience as part of a succession plan.

"We want to get to a point where we know that when we lose players, we still have other players that can slot into the team and produce a similar impact."

South Africa will be facing Zimbabwe for the first time ever in a women’s T20 international bilateral series, and Mashimbyi hopes this is the beginning of the growth of women’s cricket on the continent.