Losing van Niekerk wasn’t ideal but the team has to move on, says Luus

Momentum’s Proteas captain, Sune Luus, said losing Dane van Niekerk before the World Cup was not “ideal,” but the team had to move on and shift its focus to the global showpiece.

Van Niekerk, who was left out of the squad after failing to meet the fitness requirements laid out by Cricket South Africa, will be a huge miss for the team as they look to go one step further on home soil.

“Obviously, losing a captain before the World Cup is not ideal,” said Luus, speaking at the captain’s day on Saturday.

“At the end of the day, we’ve been playing good cricket with or without her, so the team moves forward, and I think the focus is on cricket and the World Cup, and that’s always where the focus should be.”

Luus will lead a young team that includes several experienced players who have appeared in World Cups before. She went on to say how excited they were as a group and how they planned to keep the trophy on African soil.

“I’m extremely excited to be here as part of this historic moment for South African cricket, hosting a women’s T20 World Cup for the very first time.”

“As a team, we’re excited to be representing our nation here at home, and we’re looking forward to doing everything we can to keep the trophy here.”

“The excitement that we’ve experienced from people here in Cape Town and all over the country, telling us how excited they are to support us and the tournament, has been humbling, and we just want to go out there and do our best for them.”

The Momentum Proteas will kick off their campaign on the 10th of February against Sri Lanka at Newlands at 19:00.