Suné Luus to lead South Africa against West Indies; Lizelle Lee misses out due to COVID-19

Dané van Niekerk during the four-match ODI series against West Indies. Cricket South Africa (CSA) announced on Tuesday (January 25). Allrounder Chloé Tryon will serve as her deputy in the 18-member squad. Opener Lizelle Lee is unavailable for selection as she is recovering from COVID-19.

26-year-old Luus has previously captained South Africa in 16 ODIs and 15 T20Is chipping in for van Niekerk whenever she was not part of the squad. Luus was the leader when South Africa registered historic series wins in India during their tour March last year.

“Suné has really managed the captaincy quite well in the absence of our leaders, Dané and Chloé, and we are quite exciting to be giving her the role again and in our conversations with her, she really rolled out the pathway for us, getting through the West Indies tour and for the World Cup,” Clinton du Preez, convenor of selectors said.

“We are quite happy to have her back in that role and I am sure the leadership and the senior players in the team will give her massive support. Chloé as the vice-captain is a great combination between the two individuals and personalities and we think it will be a balanced approach for our successes.”

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In the absence of Lee, opener Andrie Steyn – who had put in some impressive performance with the South Africa Emerging Side – makes a comeback to the squad alongside Anneke Bosch, who missed the West Indies tour due to injury. Raisibe Ntozakhe also makes a return having last played international cricket in 2018. Other than these, regulars like Mignon du Preez, Shabnim Ismail, Marizanne Kapp are part of the team.

“We are quite comfortable with the squad we have selected. It’s a balanced squad and we have gone for an extended squad to give more players an opportunity to ensure that we compliment the skillsets within the team,” Clinton added.

“It’s greatly important for us to fill the vacancy of Dané van Niekerk, and therefore we looked at a few options. It is also quite exciting to have Raisibe Ntozakhe back in the squad and for her to be playing international cricket again, it will be a great opportunity for her to revive her career.”

South Africa will kick start their World Cup 2022 preparation with the first ODI against West Indies on January 28.

“With the conditions up in Johannesburg, it will suit us to play against the West Indies. They are normally used to the slow, turning wickets and for now, it is a great opportunity to strike with our bowlers and to also have a balanced approach to those results,” Clinton concluded.

South Africa squad: Suné Luus (c), Chloé Tryon (vc), Andrie Steyn, Anneke Bosch, Ayabonga Khaka, Lara Goodall, Laura Wolvaardt, Marizanne Kapp, Masabata Maria Klaas, Mignon du Preez , Nadine de Klerk, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Raisibe Ntozakhe, Shabnim Ismail, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Tazmin Brits, Trisha Chetty (wk), Tumi Sekhukhune