The third edition of the Women’s Super League (WSL) begins on Monday with plenty of excitement and anticipation all round as the country’s finest Twenty20 cricketers prepare to resume action for the first time since the coronavirus struck.
The four teams – Coronations, Duchesses, Starlights and Thistles – will do battle for South Africa’s premier women’s T20 title when they face off at Six Gun Grill Newlands in Cape Town from December 14-16.
All the Momentum Proteas players will feature, barring a few due to injury, with the squads also featuring players from the national Under-19 set-up as well as the top performing provincial cricket players from all over the country.
The competition, which focuses on the development of girls and women’s cricket at high performance level, held a Virtual Draft 10 days ago and the four coaches are now looking forward to putting their plans into action.
“It’s very exciting times ahead,” Thistles coach Angelique Taai, who chose Tumi Sekhukhune as captain and whose squad will include global superstar Shabnim Ismail, said. “I can’t wait to unlock what we have in our squad and hopefully help take them to the next level.”
The fast bowler was recently named Player of the Match in the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) final in Australia.
Coronations coach Adele van Eck is equally excited about the prospects of her team having picked Nadine de Klerk as captain and also drafted in another WBBL star in Laura Wolvaardt together with India’s domestic Women s T20 Challenge finalist Ayabonga Khaka,
“I’m looking forward to the tournament. I think myself and my assistant coach (Shaun Pretorius) will promote playing freely and playing fearless cricket,” Van Eck stated. “We’ll want to be as aggressive as we can.”
Duchesses head coach Martelize van der Merwe and her counterpart from Starlights, Claire Terblanche, meanwhile, welcomed having Sune Luus and Chloe Tryon as their respective skippers.
“You can’t always get what you want due to the luck of the draw,” Van der Merwe, whose roster also included Mignon du Preez and Sinalo Jafta explained. “But we feel confident that Sune will be able to take the team onto the field and be comfortable with what we have.”
Terblanche added: “We’ve gone with Chloe again, she was our captain in last year’s WSL. I’m very excited with the squad we have assembled after the draft and by our prospects. I can’t wait for us to take to the field.” Starlights also managed to secure the services of Lizelle Lee, Masabata Klaas and Andrie Steyn for the tournament.
The Momentum Proteas duo of Dane van Niekerk and Marizanne Kapp were unavailable for selection due to injury.
WSL 3.0 is a strength versus strength competition with the winner being the team to come out on top after a full round of league games is completed after the three days.
All matches will be streamed live on the CSA YouTube channel, with ball by ball commentary available on the CSA twitter page.
The squads for WSL 3.0 are:
Coronations: Nadine de Klerk (capt), Laura Wolvaardt, Ayabonga Khaka, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Verunissa Reddy, Madison Landman, Tazmin Brits, Kirsty Thompson, Kgomotso Rapoo, Jane Winster, Izelle Cilliers, Raisibe Ntozakhe, Zintle Kula. Adele van Eck (Head Coach), Shaun Pretorius (Assistant Coach).
Duchesses: Sune Luus (capt), Mignon du Preez, Sinalo Jafta, Zintle Mali, Delmi Tucker, Faye Tunnicliffe, Micheala Andrews, Gabsile Nkosi, Robyn Searle, Gandhi Jafta, Alyssa Elxlebben, Monalisa Legodi, Michaela Kirk. Martelize van der Merwe (Head Coach), Mark Arthur (Assistant Coach).
Thistles: Tumi Sekhukhune (capt), Shabnim Ismail, Trisha Chetty, Anneke Bosch, Eliz-mari Marx, Nonkululeko Thanbethe, Jade De Figuerido, Moseline Daniels, Nadia Mbokotwana, Khayakazi Mathe, Alexandra Candler, Courtney Gouden, Nobulumko Baneti. Angelique Taai (Head Coach), Richard Hlela (Assistant Coach).
Starlights: Chloe Tryon (capt), Lizelle Lee, Masabata Klaas, Andrie Steyn, Lara Goodall,Leah Jones, Nondumiso Shangase, Anri Grobbelaar, Tatum Le Roux, Annerie Dercksen, Christine Tomlinson, Khushi Mistry, Evodia Yekile. Claire Terblanche (Head Coach), Neo Sekokotla (Assistant Coach).
The fixtures for WSL 3.0 are:
- Dec Mon 14 10:00: Thistles v Starlights Six Gun Grill Newlands, Cape Town
- Dec Mon 14 14:00: Duchesses v Coronations Six Gun Grill Newlands, Cape Town
- Dec Tue 15 10:00: Coronations v Starlights Six Gun Grill Newlands, Cape Town
- Dec Tue 15 14:00: Thistles v Duchesses Six Gun Grill Newlands, Cape Town
- Dec Wed 16 09:00: Duchesses v Starlights Six Gun Grill Newlands, Cape Town
- Dec Wed 16 12:30: Coronations v Thistles Six Gun Grill Newlands, Cape Town
