It would have been quite easy for Cricket South Africa (CSA) and women’s Proteas coach Mandla Mashimbyi to keep the door firmly shut on Dane van Niekerk’s international career — had they so desired.
But Mashimbyi, who initiated contact with Van Niekerk during the 2024/2025 season, when the former Proteas captain returned to domestic cricket for Western Province, sensed an opportunity for renewal.
The breakup in 2023 was unedifying. CSA’s strict fitness protocols were deemed mean by international observers, but it was understandable from the organisation’s standpoint, given the kind of changes Enoch Nkwe, then still working as director of cricket, wanted to institute.
It was also hard not to feel for Van Niekerk, who was a transformative captain who changed the way players thought, and demanded they not cower before Australia and England, the historic giants of the women’s game.
Mashimbyi, who was appointed last summer, watched Van Niekerk and believed she had something to offer. He arrived with a clean slate, having had no attachment to the women’s team before his appointment and certainly not during the period when Van Niekerk had a fall out with CSA, and quit.
In building a side that could challenge for the ODI World Cup in October, Mashimbyi wanted someone with experience, which Van Niekerk has in spades. When he knew she was open to a return, he contacted Nkwe, now director of national teams.
Nkwe isn’t one to hold a grudge, and once Mashimbyi had made his case, he held a short conversation with Van Niekerk, in which he told her he was happy for her to come back.
In typical forthright manner, Mashimbyi cleared up any speculation about Van Niekerk and this year’s World Cup, saying she would “definitely not be part” of the squad for the tournament.
That aligned with Van Niekerk’s own comments that she was “probably not where everyone [else] is at the moment [in terms of skills and fitness]”.
Expecting Van Niekerk to just jump back into the international fray was unrealistic particularly for a World Cup tournament which is likely to be the most competitive in history. The way the game has changed is reflected in the fall out England endured last year after failing to qualify for the T20 World Cup semifinals, followed by a poor tour of Australia — where they were trounced in the Women’s Ashes, losing all eight matches in the series.
The players were severely criticised for their poor fitness, skill and the intensity of their play, and they too made a coaching change, appointing the former captain Charlotte Edwards as head coach.
The women’s game has evolved rapidly in the last three years, as a result of the growth of franchise tournaments in England, India and Australia — where players are well remunerated but where improved coaching methods and tactics have raised intensity and the quality of play.
It is one of Mashimbyi’s main goals to increase the intensity with which the Proteas play, and Van Niekerk said she noticed how much the game had changed. “I knew how the team was evolving, when it comes to the physical side. I’m watching the players with their skill, there’s a massive difference from two years ago,” she said.
What she has, though, is experience and while she won’t be on the plane to India, the players at this week’s camp in Durban would have been remiss had they not tapped into her expertise.
The Proteas World Cup squad will be announced on Wednesday, with Laura Wolvaardt captaining a group that has realistic hopes of winning.
That wasn’t the case nine years ago when Van Niekerk was first made captain. She changed the mindset of the team, and the expectations the players should have of themselves.
Although she’s not ready yet to don the national jersey, getting her to share her depth of knowledge is a masterstroke on Mashimbyi’s part, and is a sign of maturity from all sides.
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