The ICC Women’s World Cup is less than a month away and while six out of the team teams have already announced their squads, one of the team captains will not be a part of the coveted ICC event. She is Dane van Niekerk, skipper of South Africa. The all-rounder has been ruled out of the World Cup due to an ankle injury. In an interview with News24, Dane said, “I was at home and went down to feed my dogs. It was raining and I tried to hop down a wall by the pool. As I went down, I slipped and landed on my foot but unfortunately because of the uneven ground I heard a snap in my ankle. I immediately knew that my World Cup was in danger, which was devastating.”
The all-rounder, who has been ruled out of the upcoming ICC Women’s World Cup due to an ankle injury, will be out for atleast another three months. The last four years have been difficult for her as she suffered many injuries during that period. Despite these injuries, she expressed her desire to play for as long as she can for the Proteas.
In the same interview, she said, “As the game becomes more professional, the demands increase. I will definitely play for as long as I can and as long as the fire burns in my heart. I will push as far as I can physically and mentally.” While she has been away from playing cricket, she recently enjoyed a commentary stint during the India-South Africa men’s series.
As the Women’s World Cup is approaching there is a lot of discussion going around it. The South African captain takes to the discussion and with regards to her team’s chances in the World Cup Dane believes that the team has a good chance as there are some good players in the side which can take the team all the way to the championship. She also insisted on erasing the “Chokers” tag that the South African men’s team has been living for years.
The Proteas Women have announced a 15-player squad to take part in the World Cup in New Zealand next month.#CWC22 @OfficialCSA pic.twitter.com/mmqTKgD9B3
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) February 4, 2022
On the personal front, Dane van Niekerk is one of the few female cricketers who has come out in open and announced her gay relationship. Dane has been with her teammate Marizanne Kapp since 2018. Though this relationship that Dane has with Kapp didn’t go down too well with the former’s family, they accepted it later and now all is good. The South African captain said in the interview that her parents and brother have played an important part in her life and it would have been the worst thing for me if they would have not accepted me for who I am.
Dane and Kapp have been teammates for more than a decade and the skipper believes that there are more pros than cons of having her wife in the same team as hers. The duo has a good understanding of each other and has struck a perfect balance in their personal and professional relationship. In the future, they have the desire to have kids, but at the moment, with cricket taking the majority part of their time, the focus is to concentrate on the sport.
Speaking of more current times, social media has become a platform for netizens to express their thoughts and feelings about anything and anyone. Cricketers are often made soft targets when they are not doing well. The South African captain said that the negative comments do bother her. She was criticized a lot during the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) last year for her slow batting. Though there are critics, she says that she herself is her biggest critic and is really tough on herself. She also states that cricket doesn’t define her because first she is a daughter, sister, wife and then a cricketer and a captain.
This article is the summary of the original article published on News24
Loves all things female cricket
