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Cricket South Africa announced the 15 women players who have received the new central contracts ahead of the 2023-24 season, which are set to come in effect from May 1 onwards. The retired trio of Lizelle Lee, Dane van Niekerk and Trisha Chetty has been replaced by Anneke Bosch, Delmi Tucker and Nadine de Klerk, who have received contracts.
"There are two new national contracts for all-rounders, Anneke Bosch and Delmi Tucker, with the all-action Nadine de Klerk also receiving her first contract since 2021/22, after the trio featured regularly throughout the last year, replacing the now-retired trio of Dane van Niekerk, Trisha Chetty and Lizelle Lee," said a statement from Cricket South Africa (CSA). Lizelle announced her retirement from international cricket last year in July. The 30-year-old called time on her nine-year international career, having represented South Africa in 184 matches in which she accumulated 5,253 runs across formats that included four centuries. Dane and Trisha announced their retirement from international cricket last week. The 29-year-old Dane played a solitary Test, 107 ODIs and 86 T20Is for the country, making some vital contributions. She picked up one wicket in Tests, 138 scalps in ODIs and 65 in T20Is. She was also a handy contributor with the bat, scoring 22 runs in Tests, 2175 in ODIs and 1877 in the shortest format, which included an ODI ton and 19 fifties in white-ball cricket. The 34-year-old glove-woman Trisha concluded her career after racking up 138 caps in One-Day International (ODI) cricket, to go along with 82 T20 International (T20I) appearances as well as two Test caps for the Proteas Women. Behind the stumps, Chetty, who hails from Durban, accumulated an unparalleled 184 dismissals in the One-Day format, 46 scalps more than her nearest competitor, taking 133 catches and a world record-equalling 51 stumpings (tied with England's Sarah Taylor and Anju Jain from India). In the shorter format, Chetty dismissed 70 batters (42 catches and 28 stumpings) after making her T20I debut in August 2007. At the crease, the unassuming right-handed batter stacked up 2,703 ODI runs, including 16 half-centuries and a top score of 95 against Ireland in 2016. Meanwhile, in the T20 format, Chetty recorded 1,117 runs at a strike rate of 88.09, adding five fifties. In the upcoming campaign and on the back of a historic conclusion to ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2023, the Proteas Women will next face a trip to the subcontinent with back-to-back bilateral tours against Pakistan and India in September and October this year. South Africa will then host Bangladesh and Sri Lanka at the end of 2023 in two consecutive homebound tours featuring two respective three-match, One-Day International (ODI) and T20 International (T20I) series across December and January (2024). The Proteas will wrap up their 2023/24 season with an intriguing multi-format contest away to Australia in March 2024, with the recent T20 World Cup finalists going head-to-head over three ODIs, three T20Is as well as a solitary Test match. All of the team's 50-over matches in the next 12 months will form part of South Africa's ICC Women's Championship 2022 - 25 campaign as part of the qualification expedition towards the 2025 ICC Women's Cricket World Cup that will be held in India. CSA Chief Executive Officer, Pholetsi Moseki commented: "After an incredibly inspirational display at the T20 World Cup in February this year, we are really excited about the make-up of this squad and the next evolutional step this crop of players will take next season and for years to come, as the Proteas Women continue to compete at the highest level in world cricket." CSA Director of Cricket, Enoch Nkwe said: "With the current group of players going from strength-to-strength, we are pleased to retain thecore of the squad for what is set to be another exciting chapter in the Proteas Women story. We have the 2024 T20 World Cup and the 50-over edition in 2025 on the horizon and we are thrilled to be embarking on this journey with an uber-talented squad including a blend of experienced and youthful players who still have a lot to give for their country and the green and gold." South Africa's contracted players: Anneke Bosch, Tazmin Brits, Nadine de Klerk, Lara Goodall, Shabnim Ismail, Sinalo Jafta, Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka, Masabata Klaas, Sune Luus, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Tumi Sekhukhune, Chloe Tryon, Delmi Tucker, Laura Wolvaardt. (ANI)
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