Cricket South Africa (CSA) officially announced a Proteas women’s team all-format series tour of Australia for 2024. The tour will see the women’s team compete in its first-ever test match down under.
The Proteas women’s team will play three T20 internationals, three one-day internationals, and a four-day test match. The four-day test series will be the Proteas women’s team’s first-ever. The South African women’s team will experience a historic tour, as they play the reigning women’s T20 World Cup winners.
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The cricket tour will start with the T20I series. The first two matches will be played in Canberra at the Manuka Oval on January 27 and 28. The final match of the three fixtures will take place in Hobart on January 30 at the Bellerive Oval. The 2024 ICC Women’s World Cup is fast approaching. It will take place in Bangladesh in September and October. The series in Australia will give both women’s T20 teams the chance to prepare for the World Cup.
The ODI series will follow the three-match T20I series. The series will be a part of the ICC Women’s Championship campaign. Both teams will aim for vital points in the competition. The Women’s Championship leads to qualification for the 2025 ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup. The ODI series will start in Adelaide at the Adelaide Oval on February 3. It will wrap up in Sydney on February 7 and 10 at the North Sydney Oval.
The final series of the tour is the Proteas’ first-ever test match. The series will start on February 15 and conclude on February 18. It will be played at Perth’s WACA Ground.
South African women’s cricket has seen a rise in recent years. However, the national team has seen several retirements. One player that won’t make the journey to Australia for the tour is Dane van Niekerk.
The former South Africa captain currently plays club cricket for the Women’s Premier League team Royal Challengers Bangalore. Van Niekerk retired from international cricket at the age of 29 after being left out of the South Africa team for the 2023 World Cup. Van Niekerk was unable to meet the CSA’s strict fitness requirements to qualify for the team in 2023. She underwent a fitness trial following an injury layoff. Van Niekerk had to complete a two-kilometre time trial to meet the CSA’s standards. Despite running a personal best, she was 18 seconds under the CSA’s mark.
Van Niekerk was the first of several well-known women’s players to retire from the South African team. Shabnim Ismail and Mignon du Preez also called it quits at the international level. The duo cited family reasons for retirement.
The Proteas are experiencing a rise in women’s cricket. Although several big names in the women’s game have retired in recent years, the Proteas will go to Australia feeling confident of achieving a successful tour.