Van Niekerk won’t be fazed by Proteas’ Aussie lesson
SOUTH Africa arrived in England with big ambitions for the ICC Women’s World Cup and, despite a thumping loss in their first warm-up game against Australia, captain Dane van Niekerk believes they are in good shape.
The Proteas enjoyed their best World Cup performances in their first two forays into the tournament, reaching the quarter-final and then the semi-final in 1997 and 2000.
What has followed has been largely disappointing, but added investment in recent seasons has seen some progress – even if the team remains inconsistent on the field.
Van Niekerk took over the captaincy last year, and has made it clear that she will be positive in the way she plays, with South Africa set to open their campaign against Pakistan on Sunday.
She said:“I’m a bit crazy sometimes. I can be laid back but my demeanour is to be aggressive on the field.
“I wear my heart on my sleeve. I will always give 350 per cent and that’s what I want to portray for the team.
“It’s working at the moment and the players are buying into the style of captaincy. Hopefully I can motivate the team to do well.
“It’s a huge honour (to captain the team) and I just hope I can represent the country with pride.
“I think we’ve got the best team that we possibly can pick.The skills have gone up immensely since the last World Cup and the belief as well.”
“It’s not time to hit panic stations,” added Van Niekerk after the 103-run loss in Oakham.
“We just need to go back and make sure that we finetune all the small things we got wrong.”