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South African all-rounder Dane van Niekerk has been signed by the Guyana Amazon Warriors for the upcoming Women's Caribbean Premier League (WCPL) 2025. The team announced van Niekerk, New Zealand medium-pacer Molly Penfold, and Ireland wicketkeeper-batter Amy Hunter as replacements for Shabnim Ismail, Lauren Winfield-Hill, and Madeline Penna, as per ESPNcricinfo.
This will mark van Niekerk's first appearance in the WCPL and also her return to franchise cricket after nearly two years. Her last outing in a league tournament came in August 2023, when she featured in The Hundred. She was also part of the inaugural Women's Premier League (WPL) in 2023, where she was signed by Royal Challengers Bengaluru, but did not play a single match and was released ahead of the 2024 season. The 32-year-old recently made headlines after taking a U-turn on her international retirement. Following her return to domestic cricket, she even attended a training camp with the South Africa national team. However, van Niekerk will not be part of the upcoming ODI World Cup, which begins on September 30 in India and Sri Lanka. Van Niekerk had earlier announced her retirement from international cricket in 2023 after being excluded from South Africa's T20 World Cup squad due to failing to meet the team's fitness benchmarks. Despite that, head coach Mandla Mashimbyi recently confirmed that she remains in contention for future series. In the 2024-25 domestic season, van Niekerk represented Western Province and enjoyed an impressive run in the CSA Women Pro20 Series, finishing fourth on the list of highest run-scorers with one century and a fifty. The Guyana Amazon Warriors will kick off their WCPL 2025 campaign against the Trinbago Knight Riders in Providence on Saturday. (ANI)
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