ICC Emerging Player of the Year Annerie Dercksen has been handed her first Proteas national contract. Picture: BackpagePix
Image: BackpagePix
Western Province Women’s duo Faye Tunnicliffe and Dane van Niekerk have been overlooked after Cricket SA named their 15-player contracted list in the build-up to the ICC Women’s World Cup in India later this year.
Fellow Province pair Lara Goodall and Delmi Tucker have also lost their national contracts after being part of last year’s group.
Both players have struggled with injuries over the last 18 months, although Goodall made her international comeback during the ODI series against England at the end of last year.
The left-hand top-order batter did not make full use of her opportunities with scores of 7, 31 and 17 in her three matches.
Tucker, meanwhile, last played for the Proteas in the once-off Test against India last year in Chennai when she unfortunately bagged a pair of ducks.
Tunnicliffe (26) and Van Niekerk (31) have been consistent for Province in the Hollywoodbets T20 series where they currently top the national run-scorers list. Equally, Tunnicliffe recently bashed a 67-ball 108 not out in a Hollywoodbets Pro50 match against South Western Districts.
Former Proteas women’s captain Dane van Niekerk. Picture: BackpagePix
Image: BackpagePix
Former Proteas Women’s captain Van Niekerk has also shown this past season that she still has the desire and motivation to return to the national team. Van Niekerk, 31, also blasted a 64-ball century during a 165-run opening partnership with Tunnicliffe (73) in a recent T20.
Cricket SA have though managed to keep star allrounder and Van Niekerk’s wife, Marizanne Kapp, on their books for another season.
It was widely speculated that Kapp may join her former Proteas new-ball partner Shabnim Ismail on the T20 franchise merry-ground, but the 35-year-old seems determined to have another crack at the global ICC tournament title after two consecutive T20 World Cup final defeats.
Kapp’s natural successor Annerie Dercksen has, though, been contracted for the first time.
Dercksen (23) enjoyed a breakthrough international season the past 12 months with the promising allrounder winning the ICC Emerging Player of the Season.
There was also no space for highly-rated teenage wicket-keeper batter Karabo Meso. The Steyn City matriculant was one the standout performers during the SA U19 team’s run to the ICC U19 World Cup final in Malaysia recently, while she also utterly dominated the past weekend’s inaugural Schools SA20 competition by winning both the Batter and Player of the Tournament prizes.
Instead, Cricket SA have held on to the incumbent wicket-keeper Sinalo Japta along with the experience of Masabata Klaas and Tumi Sekhukhune.
Fellow regulars including captain Laura Wolvaardt, opening batter Tazmin Brits, former captain Sune Luus, allrounders Chloe Tryon and Nadine de Klerk, Anneke Bosch, Ayabonga Khaka, left-arm spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba along with young seamer Ayanda Hlubi and Eliz-Mari Marx completing the roster.
“We are proud to announce the Proteas Women’s contracted squad for the 2025/26 season, a group that embodies the depth, talent, and potential of women’s cricket in South Africa. It’s also a momentous occasion for Annerie Dercksen, whose performances have been impressive as she cemented her spot in the team, earning a well-deserved first national contract,” said CSA National Teams and High-Performance head Enoch Nkwe.
“The continuity in the squad also recognises the team’s outstanding achievement in reaching a second consecutive World Cup final, highlighting CSA’s commitment to rewarding consistent performance and building on the team’s recent success on the global stage.
“As we prepare for a pivotal year with the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in India, this squad offers the right balance of experience and youthful energy. We believe this group is well-equipped to compete at the highest level and continue making the country proud,” Nkwe added.
Proteas Women’s Contracted Squad 2025/26
Anneke Bosch (Titans), Tazmin Brits (Lions), Nadine de Klerk (Western Province), Annerie Dercksen (Garden Route Badgers), Ayanda Hlubi (Dolphins), Sinalo Jafta (Lions), Marizanne Kapp (Western Province), Ayabonga Khaka (Lions), Masabata Klaas (Titans), Suné Luus (Titans), Eliz-Mari Marx (Titans), Nonkululeko Mlaba (Dolphins), Tumi Sekhukhune (Lions), Chloé Tryon (Lions), Laura Wolvaardt (Titans).