Lizelle Lee to miss South Africa's Opening World Cup Match against Bangladesh

Lizelle Lee, the aggressive South African opener will be missing South Africa’s first match against Bangladesh on Saturday, March 5th. The explosive right-hand batter didn’t arrive with the squad 3 weeks ago as she stayed back for the birth of her child. Lee’s wife Tanja Corje gave birth to their son on February 22nd and Lizelle Lee joined the squad in New Zealand late last week. She’s currently going through Mandatory Isolation and Quarantine (MIQ) which resulted in her missing the warm-up matches.

Lizelle Lee in action. PC: Cricket South Africa / Twitter

Lizelle Lee had requested a delayed departure to New Zealand as she wanted to stay with her wife during the birth of their child. She also said she might skip the world cup if necessary as it’s important to her to be with her family during the birth of her child.

Now, as she has reached New Zealand late, she is going through the MIQ and thus is going to miss the first encounter against Bangladesh. In her absence, Tazmin Brits will be opening the batting with Laura Wolvaardt and will be keeping wickets for the side.

Lizelle Lee had an excellent 2021 as she scored 632 runs in 11 innings and won the ICC Women’s ODI Player of the Year award. She will be coming straight back into the side after completing her MIQ.

South Africa will begin their campaign against Bangladesh on Saturday, March 5th, 2022 at Dunedin.