Three players introduced during the Bangladesh series have been included in the Proteas Women’s squad which will play England in the ICC championship in June.
Zintle Mali, Stacey Lackay and Tazmin Brits, who all made contributions to the Proteas as they completed historic clean sweeps of both the five-match ODI and three-match T20 series.
The squad will also take part in a T20 triangular series, including New Zealand, immediately after the three ODIs against England.
‘This tour of England was a great opportunity for us to take 15 players along, also to give players who have performed at provincial level an opportunity to further prove themselves in tougher conditions,’ said convenor of selectors Clinton du Preez. ‘Stacey Lackay put up fabulous performances at the Women’s Cricket Week, Tazmin Brits had a good season and Zintle Mali showed how perseverance can reap great rewards. We thought of the opportunity of getting them in with the intentions of planning ahead for the 2018 World T20 in West Indies, looking at one or two options who can bolster our squad.
‘With the core players in our team, we’re looking forward confidently to putting up top performances in England against two of the top teams in world cricket. We’re also placing a great focus on the preparation for the T20 World Cup because that for us is key at the moment.’
All the matches in the ODI series will form part of the ICC Women’s Championship (IWC), the qualifying tournament for the 2021 ICC Women’s World Cup. The T20 triangular series will play a big part in South Africa’s preparation for the 2018 ICC Women’s World T20 which is due to take place in the West Indies in November.
Proteas squad: Dané van Niekerk (captain, Eastern Province), Lizelle Lee (North West), Chloe Tryon (KwaZulu-Natal Dolphins), Mignon du Preez (Northerns), Marizanne Kapp (Eastern Province), Shabnim Ismail (Gauteng), Ayabonga Khaka (Gauteng), Masabata Klaas (North West), Raisibe Ntozakhe (Gauteng), Suné Luus (Northerns), Laura Wolvaardt (Western Province), Andrie Steyn (Western Province), Zintle Mali (Border), Stacey Lackay (Western Province), Tazmin Brits (North West).
Photo: Frikkie Kapp/Gallo Images
