Van Niekerk was the first South African female cricketer to be inducted into the men’s side at the Eastern Province cricket academy.
She debuted for the Proteas in the 2009 World Cup, starting off with impressive figures of 3/11 in her 2nd game.
In 2013, Van Niekerk became the first Proteas women to take a hat-trick, finishing with 5/28 in an ODI against the West Indies in St. Kitts.
Van Niekerk was made South Africa’s captain across formats in 2016 when Migon du Preez gave up the role.
She was the highest wicket-taker in the 2017 World Cup.
She took 4/0 against West Indies in 2017 World Cup, becoming the first ever bowler (male or female) to take four wickets without conceding a single run.
Van Niekerk is only the 6th player to have scored 1000 runs, taken 50 wickets and 50 catches in ODIs.
The Pretoria-born cricketer bid farewell to international cricket in March 2023.
In 194 international matches, Van Niekerk has scored 4074 runs and taken 204 wickets.
Van Niekerk is currently representing the Smriti Mandhana-led Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2023, and has yet to make her debut in the 20-over showpiece event. The Bangaluru-based franchise will play their next fixture against Gujarat Giants on Saturday, March 18. RCB have won one game out of their six games so far, and their chances of qualifying in the playoffs are quite difficult. It will be interesting to see if Van Niekerk will get the debut cap in the next match.
Source: WomenCricket.com
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