Cape Town - There appears to be a lump in Dane van Niekerk’s throat whenever she reminisces about how she was left out of South Africa’s T20 Women’s World Cup squad at the beginning of the year.
The former Proteas women’s captain was expected to be announced among the top players when Cricket South Africa released the names of the squad to play in the World Cup, but she was dropped.
The reason given for her not making the cut was that she had failed to make the fitness standard set for all players.
She has since moved on, though, after signing to play in the inaugural Women’s Premier League (WPL) in India, and is currently in Hong Kong for another tournament.
The 29-year-old captained the Proteas 80 times over a span of 14 years.
She announced her retirement from all forms of international cricket last month.
But what has become clear is that she retired on a sour note. In an interview with BBC podcast No Balls, she said: “I just couldn’t do it any more for a company that didn’t value me.” That is why she has opted to pursue a career playing franchise cricket.
In India last month Dane played for Royal Challengers Bangalore, and from Hong Kong she will head to England where the all-rounder will take up a two-and-a-half-month contract with the Sunrisers to play regional cricket before rejoining Oval Invincibles for The Hundred competition.
Despite having all these fresh and new opportunities to look forward to, Van Niekerk remains “hurt” that she was relieved of her national team captaincy duties before the T20 World Cup.
There is no doubt that Van Niekerk has served the country well and took pride in her work, especially during the more challenging times when women’s cricket was neglected. It would have been a massive bonus for her to lead the team in a World Cup at home.
Van Niekerk believes that there is more to her exclusion than simply missing the required time for a 2km run. She is convinced “it’s personal”.
In good time the powers that be at CSA may have to invite Van Niekerk to allow her space to engage so the parties can smoke the peace pipe. On or off the field she remains an asset to the game, and her role could be influential in promoting the sport among women in the country.
Cape Times