Proteas announced the squad as Tunnicliffe, Goodall, Brits and Steyn earn the recall

Ahead of the Sri Lanka tour of South Africa for 3 ODI and 3 T20I from 01-17 February, the Cricket South Africa have named the Proteas women’s squads.



Convener of Selectors Clinton du Preez said, “Looking into the upcoming Sri Lanka series, we as selectors did a debrief of the World Cup and looked at certain areas that we need to strengthen and looked at different options that will impact the game. We’ve gone and focussed on the two different formats and two different skill sets and grouped players together with the hope that we will get a good return with the impact that they can make in these games, especially on the T20 front."



The ODIs will be a part of  ICC Women’s Championship One-Day International series, along with three-match T20 International series will be played across four venues.



Faye Tunnicliffe, Tazmin Brits, Nadine de Klerk and Lara Goodall have earned the recall in the T20 side as the board has decided to replace Laura Wolvaardt, Suné Luus, Raisibe Ntozakhe and Trisha Chetty. On the returning players du Preez, “The likes of Tazmin Brits and Nadine de Klerk could really make an impact on the middle order, the two of them have had a really good provincial season thus far. Saarah Smith coming back from injury as a batter who can add some spin value to the team is something we’re looking forward to and in the 50-over format, Andrie Steyn is coming in on the back of some good innings at provincial level. It’s good to see that we are retaining the core of our players within the squad and are also giving the opportunity to some younger players."



Goodall is making her return to the national team after a long absence as she featured last in the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifiers in early 2017. Also Brits and De Klerk’s are returning to the squad since in June and February 2018 respectively. Saarah Smith also makes a return after recovering from a fractured finger during the World T20.



Wolvaardt retains her place in the ODI side but Luus, Khaka and Chetty are not considered for either of the format as Chetty is injured and Khaka is still recovering from her shoulder injury. du Preez added, "Suné Luus unfortunately misses out on the back of some disappointing performances. We’re looking forward to seeing how she comes back, she can still add a lot of value, she needs a bit of work with the necessary coaches just to make sure that we get her back to speed (with the bat in hand). Her bowling obviously plays a massive role, so we would need to see how she comes back after playing a few provincial games and preparing for the Pakistan series."



Talking about the upcoming series, du Preez further added, "For now, it’s important that we focus and we plan for the upcoming T20 World Cup next year and also the one in 2022 and in between that, we have the 50-over World Cup. Our focus needs to be on both formats. We’re quite excited at the moment, the selectors are quite happy, the coaches are really keen to look at the strategic change and how we take on the challenge. We’re happy for the players coming in and taking the opportunities and we’re looking forward to seeing how they face their new challenges".



The squad will commence a pre-tour camp from Saturday 26 January in Cape Town.



View Complete fixtures



 



South Africa T20I series squad:



Dané van Niekerk (captain, Eastern Province), Chloe Tryon (vice-captain, Kwa-Zulu Natal Coastal), Lizelle Lee (North West), Tazmin Brits (North West), Mignon du Preez (Northerns), Lara Goodall (Western Province), Shabnim Ismail (Gauteng), Marizanne Kapp (Eastern Province), Saarah Smith (Western Province), Tumi Sekhukhune (North West), Zintle Mali (Border), Faye Tunnicliffe (wicket-keeper, Boland), Masabata Klaas (North West), Nadine de Klerk (Northerns).



 



South Africa ODI series squad:



Dané van Niekerk (captain, Eastern Province), Chloe Tryon (vice-captain, Kwa-Zulu Natal Coastal), Lizelle Lee (North West), Laura Wolvaardt (Western Province), Mignon du Preez (Northerns), Lara Goodall (Western Province), Shabnim Ismail (Gauteng), Marizanne Kapp (Eastern Province), Saarah Smith (Western Province), Tumi Sekhukhune (North West), Zintle Mali (Border), Faye Tunnicliffe (wicket-keeper, Boland), Masabata Klaas (North West), Andrie Steyn (Western Province).