Proteas legend Dane van Niekerk has a right to her anger

It is an unedifying episode that has unfolded regarding Dane van Niekerk’s international retirement. 

She deserved better than a few tweets and posts on social media. 

But Van Niekerk has been angry. Understandably so. Not just at Cricket South Africa (CSA) and the national selectors who omitted her from the Proteas squad for a home World Cup, but also angry at herself. 

For her clumsiness in slipping on the floor and breaking her foot just weeks before last year’s 50-over World Cup in New Zealand. Angry too for the way she handled that disappointment, something she discussed in anguished detail with Indian website CricBuzz, while at the Women’s Premier League. 

She certainly didn’t deserve a headline like the one produced by Fox Sports in Australia this week that read: “Fat-shamed cricket star to retire after 2km cut-off controversy.” Van Niekerk took to Twitter, quite rightly replying: “Excuse me???” More anger. 

It’s all been very messy. Van Niekerk isn’t deserving of any of it. She is one of the most important cricketers to emerge from South Africa. It was largely down to her that the Proteas went from being “happy to be here” at World Cups to “we want to win this World Cup”.

That was the significant mental shift, which occurred when she was made captain in June 2016. At the time Van Niekerk spoke with a clarity about why she wanted the job, that would be her hallmark. She was tough, maybe overstepping the mark occasionally in terms of her body language when criticising (some might say chastising) teammates. By her own admission, she wears her heart on her sleeve.

It makes her the competitor she is and allowed her — along with her natural cricket intellect — to transform the women’s national team. 

Hers was a timely appointment. Just two years before she was made captain — replacing Mignon du Preez — CSA had dished out the first national contracts for women’s players. It meant players could make a career out of the sport, but along with that, higher standards were demanded of them too. 

Van Niekerk certainly drove that improvement.

A year after her appointment as skipper, South Africa qualified for the semifinals of the 50-over World Cup in England. It wasn’t an accident either. The team played tenaciously in that tournament and then suffered heartbreak in their knockout encounter against the host nation. 

That loss in the last over by two wickets set the benchmark for the Van Niekerk captaincy era. The Proteas were no longer also-rans but genuine contenders and ferocious competitors. As captain she led South Africa to victories in 15 T20Is and 29 ODIs of the 30 and 50 games respectively. In an international career that spanned 14 years, she played a Test, 107 ODIs and 86 T20 Internationals, scoring 4,074 runs and taking 204 wickets across the three formats.

On Thursday afternoon, Van Niekerk confirmed her retirement from international cricket. “I’m incredibly blessed to have led the team through it’s transformative years,” she said via a statement released by CSA.

“Often the journey can be lonely, painful and emotional but I would not change it for anything. I am grateful for what this game has given me.”  

It wasn’t only Van Niekerk of course, but as the leader she was the most important player in that side. There were lows — the 2018 World Cup being the most profound, where the batting was awful — but for the most part South Africa remained on an upward trajectory. 

Importantly, depth was created too, along with the elevation of Sune Luus to the captaincy on a few occasions. She didn’t have Van Niekerk’s bravado in terms of character, but Luus is a gutsy individual, influenced by Van Nierkerk’s leadership, while very much her own person.

That played a big part in providing comfort for the team’s management when Van Niekerk failed to meet the fitness standards required for selection for this year’s T20 World Cup. 

Luus had shown she could lead the team at last year’s World Cup in New Zealand where a strong showing in the group stages saw the Proteas finish second behind Australia after the round-robin phase. However, in the semifinal, they were dreadful and lost to England. 

Many felt Van Niekerk’s absence was the difference. So at a home World Cup, particularly given the retirements from the international game of both Du Preez and big-hitting opener Lizelle Lee, Van Niekerk’s presence was essential. 

Then came the drama of that failed fitness test, the omission, the tears and the anger. 

Yet the team performed like no other senior South African cricket team had ever done at a World Cup. They made the final and ran the all-time great Australian team close on a memorable Sunday at Newlands.  

Though she played no part in that tournament it was felt Van Niekerk, 29, still had a role, if she could meet the standards set by CSA. A contract at the WPL seems to have changed all that. The heartbreak emoji, more tears and yes, more anger. 

Van Niekerk deserves better. Hopefully that will come her way at some stage. 

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