Chloé Tryon returns as South Africa name squad for Australia tour

Allrounders Marizanne Kapp and Chloe Tryon will return to the T20I squad as South Africa named the limited over side for the multi-format tour to Australia that's scheduled to start on January 27. Laura Wolvaardt will continue to lead the 15-member team in both formats with young Ayanda Hlubi getting her maidean call-up.

The tour will start with the T20Is and then the visitors will also play three ICC Women' Championship (IWC) ODIs before moving on to the one-off Test match in Perth. The squad for the four-day Women's Test will be announced later. This will be South Africa's first Test against Australia in their cricketing history.

From the side that faced Bangladesh during the recent series, Lara Goodall, Annerie Dercksen, Nondumiso Shangase and Tumi Sekhukhune have been dropped for the tour Down Under.

"The objective is consistently to vie for success in every competition or tour we engage in, and the prospect of doing so in Australia is very exciting as we compete against the best. The squad maintains its balance, and we eagerly anticipate Chloé's return. Her wealth of experience and match-winning skills will undoubtedly enhance the squad's value," Clinton du Preez, Women Convenor of Selectors, said.

“I am genuinely excited for both the players and the management team. The group is undoubtedly poised to compete and deliver positive contributions to the overall team performance and the set targets throughout the tour."

Ahead of the series, Cricket South Africa (CSA) extended head coach Hilton Moreeng's contract till the end of the 2023-24 season.

“It’s a very competitive squad. It is a mixture of youngsters and experience, and everyone is looking forward to it. It was a very good year for us as a team in 2023, so we look forward to building on that," Moreeng said.

In the home series against Bangladesh Women, South Africa lost two matches with the T20I series ending in a draw with one match getting washed out and then they went on to win the ODI series 2-1 to garner four IWC points.

“We finished off well with the tour against Bangladesh and the camp was very good. The weather is not something we can control but we got what we wanted out of it, such as the education around the game, touching base regarding the red ball, and what we want to achieve," Moreeng added.

“We also touched on our skills regarding the white ball, where we are going, and what is required, so the selected squad is very well-balanced and competitive, and we are very confident going into Australia."

South Africa will leave for Australia in two batches on January 17 and 18 and they will have their first training session in Sydney on Sunday (January 21).

South Africa squad: Laura Wolvaardt (c), Anneke Bosch, Tazmin Brits, Nadine de Klerk, Mieke de Ridder, Ayanda Hlubi, Sinalo Jafta, Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka, Masabata Klaas, Suné Luus, Eliz-Mari Marx, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Chloé Tryon, Delmi Tucker