Shandre Fritz debuts as match referee at Wanderers Stadium

Shandre Fritz, former South Africa all-rounder, made her first-class debut as a match referee when she officiated in the four-day domestic series match between Lions and Dolphins at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on Monday (October 28).



The 34-year-old was appointed to Cricket South Africa's (CSA) match referee panel for the 2019-20 season in August earlier this year. Fritz played 59 ODIs and 26 T20Is for South Africa between 2003 and 2014. She was one of the country’s premier all-rounders and captained the side in 2007 before a back injury kept her out of the game for a couple of years.



Fritz became the first South African to score a century in T20Is - an unbeaten 116 against Netherlands in 2010. She was awarded South African Women’s Cricketer of the Year in 2012.



“Shandre’s cricket CV speaks for itself. She represented the Proteas in 85 white ball international matches between 2003 and 2014, captaining the country on several occasions. In addition, she became the first South African to score a century in international T20 cricket and was honoured as South African Women’s Cricketer of the Year in 2012,” Corrie van Zyl, CSA Acting Director of Cricket, had said in August.



Apart from Fritz, the CSA match referee panel also includes Devdas Govindjee, Barry Lambson, Zama Ndamane, Laurance Matroos, Gerrie Pienaar and Shaid Wadvalla.