South Africa coach confirms van Niekerk 'definitely not part' of World Cup

South Africa's former captain Dane van Niekerk is "definitely not part," of their plans for the upcoming World Cup despite coming out of retirement and being included in an ongoing pre-tournament training camp. National coach Mandla Mashimbyi confirmed that van Niekerk will only be considered for future series "when she ticks all the boxes."

That means van Niekerk, who is 32, may not play at another 50-over World Cup after missing out in 2022 as she recovered from a broken ankle. She has appeared in three previous editions and led South Africa in 2017, where they suffered a semi-final defeat to England. She has also played in seven T20 World Cups but did not feature in the home event in 2023 after failing to meet Cricket South Africa's (CSA) fitness requirements. It was then that she announced her retirement from international cricket.

Van Niekerk has since come back to domestic competition, u-turned on her international retirement and was called up to a 20-player squad for a week-long camp in Durban ahead of South Africa's World Cup squad selection. But her name will not be among the final fifteen that will be announced next week. "She's just part of the bigger or broader base of players that we're trying to bring into our environment," Mashimbyi said. "She's definitely not part of this World Cup. She's not going."

So why was van Niekerk brought into a squad specifically put together, "in preparation for the upcoming Pakistan tour and the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2025 held in India and Sri Lanka," according to a CSA press release? To see what she needs to do in order to get back in.

"We wanted to bring her in and actually expose her to the environment so that she can understand what the expectations are," Mashimbyi said. "Hopefully she can carry on from here onwards and really understand how she wants to go about things. And then one day when she gets a call up, you know, she can come in and have an impact immediately."

Strictly monitored running times are no longer part of the expectations, which will come as a relief to van Niekerk who was left out of the 2023 T20 World Cup squad because she could not run two kilometres in under 9:30. Now, CSA leaves selection to the coach and convener's discretion but there is still an implicit understanding that fitness standards need to be at a high level and van Niekerk knows it. "I've seen the standards in the last two years. I've been in and around the team, commentating and even though I was really not involved I knew how the team was evolving when it comes to the physical sides of things," she said. "There's a massive difference from two years ago. The players have evolved, got stronger, smarter you can really see the work ethic around the group as well."

Van Niekerk, who plays for Western Province but does not have any franchise deals at the moment, conceded that she still has some work to do to catch up. "I know I'm probably not where everyone's at at the moment. I understand where I need to be for the team. It's going to be a lot of hard work, but I definitely wouldn't have gone through all of this if I'm not willing to put that in," she said. "This is almost a baseline for me to really gauge where I'm at when it comes to the physical side, when it comes to the skill side, and all those things. Hopefully, I can have a clearer view after this camp. I'd know with the conversations we've had where I need to be in the next few months."

While she will not be part of the action over September and October, van Niekerk may be eyeing a home comeback later this year. After the Women's World Cup, the South Africa's women's team's series against Ireland and Pakistan will headline the international summer as the men only host West Indies for five T20Is next year. The women's team will play at all the country's big grounds including Newlands, the Wanderers and van Niekerk's home venue - St George's Park - where she has never played an international. That will be followed by preparations for next year's T20 World Cup, which both her and Mashimbyi may also have in their sights for her future.

Mashimbyi acknowledged that it would be "false of us to not think that Dane is an important cog in the bigger scheme of things," because of her experience. "She's captained the team. She's played for a long time, and she was successful in doing that. Bringing a player like that back into the environment for me was a no-brainer," he said.

But he also made it clear that she won't receive any special treatment based on that history. "She's like any other player now. You know, she needs to work her way up again. She needs to earn a place as well."