“I feel so better prepared, so for me, that tournament was needed with bat and ball,” Marizanne Kapp speaks about her participation in the Hundred serving as a blessing in terms of preparations for the World Cup
The veteran 34-year-old all-rounder Marizanne Kapp will be spearheading the young South African pace attack in the upcoming 9th edition of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024. The Laura Wolvaardt-led side announced their T20 World Cup squad just a couple of days ago.
The upcoming 9th edition of the tournament was earlier set to be hosted by Bangladesh. However, the tournament has now been shifted to the United Arab Emirates courtesy of political tension within the country. Though Bangladesh still has the hosting rights of the tournament alongside the UAE. The Proteas squad has a good mix of youth and experience, consisting of a plethora of pace bowling options.
The 34-year-old all-rounder Marizanne Kapp is one of the most experienced members of the South African squad that will head to the World Cup. The weight of expectations would clearly lie on her shoulders to take Proteas to glory. However, the clouds of uncertainty surrounded Marizanne Kapp’s all-round availability for the upcoming T20 World Cup. She was on a three-month bowling layoff for a period of three months since April this year.
She contributed as a pure batter in South Africa’s most recent international assignment against India. However, she warmed up with a two-over spell in the final T20I of the all-format series. She then went on to represent the Oval Invincibles led by skipper Lauren Winfield-Hill in the 4th edition of the Women’s Hundred. She was the 2nd highest run-scorer for her side in the hundred with 207 runs at a strike rate of 134.41 and a sensational average of 51.75 in nine innings with the bat.
🚨 World Cup Squad 🚨
Runner-up to the previous Women’s T20 World Cup,
🇿🇦 South Africa has made huge changes in its World Cup squad. #CricketTwitter #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/LI4cOkEDfI— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) September 3, 2024
Apart from her exploits with the bat, she was the highest wicket-taker for her side with 11 wickets to her name. She was also the joint 4th highest wicket-taker for her side with Hayley Matthews, Emily Arlott, and Freya Davies. “I loved The Hundred competition. I got to bowl for the first time again full-on. It was basically the first time I returned to bowl again. I definitely felt I needed that tournament. I’m a big believer that I play better cricket or perform better when I keep on competing the whole time.” Marizanne Kapp speaks about her return to bowling regularly and competing at all times bringing the best out of her.
South Africa will tour Pakistan for a three-match T20I series from 16th to 20th September 2024 before heading to the United Arab Emirates for the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024. “I actually like coming off tournaments and then going into World Cups or coming off series and then going into World Cups. Generally, I feel so better prepared, so for me, that tournament was needed with bat and ball.” Marizanne Kapp speaks about the ideal scenarios for her heading into a World Cup.
The Laura Wolvaardt-led side will commence their World Cup campaign on 4th October 2024 against the West Indies led by skipper Hayley Matthews at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium from 3:30 PM IST.
(Quotes sourced from The Star)
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