Marizanne Kapp hits back at Proteas Women selection detractors
17th September 2025
By
Proteas Women all-rounder Marizanne Kapp issued the perfect response to detractors who had questioned whether she can still be effective with bat and ball at her age.
Kapp played one of the best knocks of her international career as she scored 121* – her fourth One Day International century – to lead South Africa to an 8-wicket victory over Pakistan in Lahore on Tuesday evening.
The 35-year-old says even younger players can struggle in certain conditions, and it’s not fair to target those who are well into their 30s.
"I think I've always showed that I can do both skills, and I'm not going to stand here and say it's easy, but I think even a 20-year-old would find today very difficult because it's not easy conditions," said Kapp.
"It doesn't matter your age, it doesn't matter your fitness, ultimately even Taz [Brits] is as fit as can be and she struggled out there, and she's not even a bowler.
"So I think it's sometimes a bit unfair to say, it's because of this or that, or age – to be an all-rounder is extremely hard work."
She also conceded that the pitch was difficult to bat on despite her making it look that easy, with her top score having come in just 128 deliveries, with 13 fours and two sixes, while she credited the partnership with fellow centurion Tazmin Brits.
"I struggled in the over just before my century, so I was a bit frustrated, but it was extremely tough and the conditions were not easy," she added.
"When I was on about 20 runs, I thought how am I going to do this – so it was just extremely tough out there today, and it wasn't easy to bat at all.
"But even when I was bowling, it felt like you couldn't get a wicket as well, so it felt like the partnership is probably what brought us over the line because I feel like, when you're a new batter and you first walk in, it's not easy at all."
