Brits back from injury; Shangase, De Ridder back in SA squad for India tour

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South Africa opening batter Tazmin Brits is in line for an international comeback after suffering a meniscus tear and sprained ligament on her left knee in April. Brits has been named in the ODI and Test squads to face India next month and will undergo a fitness assessment before the group departs to determine the extent of her involvement in the three ODIs and the one-off Test.
Brits had sustained the injury on April 9, in the same match that she scored her second ODI century of the season, against Sri Lanka and underwent surgery the following week. She was expected to be in line to play by the end of May and is on track in her recovery thus far. The next two weeks are thought to be crucial in her return to play programme. While South Africa have not yet named their T20I squad for the tour, her participation in that series will be most crucial, with October’s T20 World Cup in mind.
Allrounder Nondumiso Shangase, who bowls offpsin, has been recalled to the squad after missing the Australia and Sri Lanka series while wicketkeeper Meike De Ridder is also included after a hand injury kept her out of the Sri Lanka series. Those inclusions are a significant boost for a South African outfit that will miss out on the experience of Chloe Tryon, whose back injury has recurred. The problem has plagued her since 2020, and she has regularly missed cricket because of it but will hope to be fit for the T20 World Cup. Batter Lara Goodall and 19-year-old seamer Ayanda Hlubi, who debuted in the ODIs and the Test against Australia earlier in the year, are also out with a hamstring and groin concern respectively.

The rest of South Africa’s squad includes familiar names such as captain Laura Wolvaardt, allrounders Nadine de Klerk and Marizanne Kapp, and a bowling attack led by the seam of Ayabonga Khaka and spin of Nonkululeko Mlaba. De Ridder and Annerie Dercksen, who has played seven T20Is, are the only uncapped players across the ODI and Test format while Shangase and Eliz-Mari Marx are in the line for Test debuts.

The four-day Test, scheduled for Chennai from June 28 to July 1, will be South Africa’s third in the last two years, with another to come against England at home this summer, while the ODIs are their second-last series of the Women’s Championship, which determines qualification for the 2025 World Cup. South Africa are in third position on the points table, a point behind England. The top five teams and hosts India will advance automatically to the tournament with the remaining two teams to be determined via a qualifier.

Significantly, the India tour will be South Africa’s first series since the departure of long-serving coach Hilton Moreeng, who opted not to continue in the role after more than 11 years in the job. Interim coach Dillon du Preez will take charge in India, and South Africa are expected to confirm a permanent head coach before the T20 World Cup.

“Everyone’s excited and looking forward to the tour to India,” du Preez said in a statement. “So far, preparation has been great. We had a big focus on options against spin and it was good to see the buy-in from the team. We also have new management involved, so this would be a great opportunity for them to find their feet before we come back and start our preparation for the World Cup.

“The key for us would be to assess the conditions as soon as possible, be calm under pressure and try and play key moments in the game better than the opposition. We all know a series against India in India will always be tough.”

The last time South Africa toured India, in March 2021, they won the five-match ODI series 4-1.

The tour this time will start with a warm-up match against Board President’s Women XI on June 13 in Bengaluru before the three ODIs in the same city on June 16, 19 and 23. Chennai will then host the Test from June 28 and the three T20Is on July 5, 7 and 9.

South Africa Women ODI and Test squad for India tour

Laura Wolvaardt (capt), Anneke Bosch, Tazmin Brits, Nadine de Klerk, Annerie Dercksen, Mieke de Ridder (wk), Sinalo Jafta (wk), Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka, Masabata Klaas, Suné Luus, Eliz-Mari Marx, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Tumi Sekhukhune, Nondumiso Shangase, ⁠Delmi Tucker

This article was originally published by Espncricinfo.com. Read the original article here.
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