South Africa's legspinning prodigy
Legspinners at the international level have been a rarity for South Africa
Siddhartha Talya
25-Feb-2013
Legspinners at the international level have been a rarity for South Africa. But a special talent has been unearthed in the women's circuit in the form of Dane van Niekerk, who, only 16, starred against West Indies women in Paarl, taking 3 for 25 in ten overs, and helped South Africa win by seven wickets. Rodney Hartman, on the Independent Online website, has more.
Dane is South Africa's legspin prodigy. She is a shade over 16 years old and she can bowl the leg break, the wrong 'un and the flipper. That's probably more than Shane Warne could do at a similar age.
In a runaway seven-wicket victory over the West Indies yesterday, she took three wickets for 25 runs in 10 overs. That's as economical as you can get, particularly since legspinners are often quite expensive.
Siddhartha Talya is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo