{"id":5815,"date":"2026-09-07T12:17:16","date_gmt":"2026-09-07T10:17:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/?p=5815"},"modified":"2026-09-11T12:17:55","modified_gmt":"2026-09-11T10:17:55","slug":"a-youthful-proteas-women-side-is-preparing-to-make-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/07\/a-youthful-proteas-women-side-is-preparing-to-make-history\/","title":{"rendered":"A youthful Proteas Women side is preparing to make history"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>A youthful Proteas Women side is preparing to make history as they travel to Zimbabwe for the maiden T20 International (T20I) series between the two neighbouring nations from 11-19 September in Bulawayo.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The five-match T20I series will take place at the Queen\u2019s Sports Club, with matches scheduled for 11, 13, 15, 17 and 19 September. All five encounters will get underway at 13:30.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Speaking ahead of the team\u2019s departure following a pre-tour training camp in Tshwane, Proteas captain Laura Wolvaardt expressed her excitement at the opportunity to face fellow African opposition for the first time at senior international level, adding further significance to the historic tour.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201cIt\u2019s very special for us. I think for as long as I\u2019ve played, we haven\u2019t played against another African team.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201cIt\u2019s pretty cool that we get to play some cricket against our neighbours. So I\u2019m very excited to head over there,\u201d Wolvaardt said.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Wolvaardt will lead a new-look Proteas squad for the tour, with Annerie Dercksen, Karabo Meso and Kayla Reyneke the only other players in the touring group to have featured in the recent ICC Women\u2019s T20 World Cup 2026 in England.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The squad includes seven other previously capped players, including batters Anneke Bosch, Mian\u00e9 Smit and Faye Tunnicliffe, as well as Ayanda Hlubi, Eliz-Mari Marx and Nondumiso Shangase, who will bolster the team\u2019s bowling and all-round options.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The touring group also welcomes four uncapped youngsters: Fidelity Titans duo Caitlin Wyngaard and Luyanda Nzuza, former SA U19 Women and Warriors seamer Nthabiseng Nini, along with Western Province Cobras wicketkeeper-batter Jae-Leigh Filander, who received a late call-up following Sinalo Jafta\u2019s hamstring injury.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Head coach Mandla Mashimbyi believes the upcoming series provides an ideal opportunity to assess the next generation of players as the team continues building towards its long-term objectives leading up to the end of the ICC Women\u2019s Cricket World Cup cycle in 2029.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201cThe purpose is quite simple. It\u2019s an opportunity for players to test their skills. An opportunity to give opportunities to the young players. And also for us to see where we are going forward in terms of the future of South African cricket,\u201d Mashimbyi commented.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>With several nationally contracted players representing teams in domestic and franchise competitions around the world, the Zimbabwe T20I series presents an opportunity for those involved to stake their claim for future selection, something Mashimbyi is particularly looking forward to.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201cA couple of youngsters putting their hands up. Just to put a bit of pressure on the usual players that we take on tour on a normal basis. When you\u2019ve got players that are putting their hands up and actually pushing the other players that we\u2019ve always had in our squad, it\u2019s good for cricket as a whole in South Africa.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201cSo for me, the positive thing will be seeing these youngsters actually do well. And also seeing Laura lead the team,\u201d Mashimbyi added.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>For Wolvaardt, the youthful make-up of the squad has already brought a different energy to the Proteas environment, with the captain looking forward to seeing the players transfer what they have shown in camp onto the international stage.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201cIt\u2019s going to be awesome to see those youngsters just express themselves and play free cricket against a new opposition.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201cLots of talent here in the net. I\u2019m keen to see how they all go in the games,\u201d Wolvaardt concluded.<\/div>\n<div><u>\u00a0<\/u><\/div>\n<div><u>Proteas Women\u2019s T20I Squad against Zimbabwe:\u00a0<\/u><\/div>\n<div>Laura Wolvaardt (captain, Fidelity Titans), Anneke Bosch (Fidelity Titans), Annerie Dercksen (Garden Route Badgers), *Jae-Leigh Filander (Western Province Cobras), Ayanda Hlubi (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Eliz-Mari Marx (Fidelity Titans), Karabo Meso (DP World Lions), Seshnie Naidu (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), *Nthabiseng Nini (Warriors), *Luyanda Nzuza (Fidelity Titans), Kayla Reyneke (Western Province Cobras), Nondumiso Shangase (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Mian\u00e9 Smit (Fidelity Titans), Faye Tunnicliffe (Western Province Cobras) and *Caitlin Wyngaard (Fidelity Titans)<\/div>\n<div>*Uncapped<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><u>Fixtures\u00a0 &#8211; Proteas Women T20 Outbound Tour against Zimbabwe &#8211;<\/u><\/div>\n<div>Friday, 11 September &#8211; Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo<\/div>\n<div>Zimbabwe vs South Africa at 13:30<\/div>\n<div>Sunday, 13 September &#8211; Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo<\/div>\n<div>Zimbabwe vs South Africa at 13:30<\/div>\n<div>Tuesday, 15 September &#8211; Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo<\/div>\n<div>Zimbabwe vs South Africa at 13:30<\/div>\n<div>Thursday, 17 September &#8211; Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo<\/div>\n<div>Zimbabwe vs South Africa at 13:30<\/div>\n<div>Saturday, 19 September &#8211; Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo<\/div>\n<div>Zimbabwe vs South Africa at 13:30<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A youthful Proteas Women side is preparing to make history as they travel to Zimbabwe for the maiden T20 International (T20I) series between the two <a href=\"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/07\/a-youthful-proteas-women-side-is-preparing-to-make-history\/\" class=\"btn btn-link continue-link\">Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cricket"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5815","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5815"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5815\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5816,"href":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5815\/revisions\/5816"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}