“Thrilled to return”: Dane van Niekerk announces International Cricket comeback

Overview

• South Africa Women’s star all-rounder Dane van Niekerk has confirmed that she is making a return to international cricket.
• The former captain has revealed in a heartfelt statement shared on her social media handles.
• She expressed her joy at coming back and apologised to Cricket South Africa.

South Africa Women’s star all-rounder Dane van Niekerk has confirmed that she is making a return to international cricket. The former captain has reversed her retirement decision, which she revealed in a heartfelt statement shared on her social media handles.

In her message, van Niekerk expressed her joy at coming back and apologised to Cricket South Africa for the way she managed her retirement in 2023.

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The statement reads: “I’m thrilled to announce that I have decided to revoke my retirement from international cricket. The time away has reminded me just how much I have missed representing my country and I am fully committed to giving everything to once again have that opportunity.”

She continued: “I sincerely apologise to Cricket South Africa and the cricket family for how I handled my retirement, and I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to hopefully one day express my skills again on the international stage. I know the standards of the team and the women’s game continue to rise, and I am ready to work hard to meet them.”

Van Niekerk further added: “I return with renewed energy, focus, and a deep sense of gratitude for this chance. Thank you to everyone who continues to support me on this journey.”

Dane van Niekerk has played across all three formats for the Proteas

The 32-year-old had originally stepped away from international cricket in 2023 after being left out of the T20 World Cup squad. At that time, she failed to clear the mandatory 2km fitness test.

Earlier this year in May, Proteas Women’s head coach Mandla Mashimbyi mentioned that he had spoken with van Niekerk about a potential comeback, with the upcoming ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup on the horizon. At that point, Mashimbyi stated: “In terms of that (World Cup), she was not part of the plans initially, but you can never count anybody out. When the opportunity presents itself and she’s the one that’s available to make the team, or she’s fit enough to make the team, or she’s where she needs to be, then we can’t control that.”

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Van Niekerk has represented the Proteas in 107 ODIs, scoring 2,175 runs and taking 138 wickets. In T20Is, she has 1,877 runs and 65 wickets from 86 matches, along with one Test appearance where she scored 22 runs and claimed a wicket.