Proteas Women stars Laura Wolvaardt, Marizanne Kapp and captain Dané van Niekerk have been rewarded for their stellar performances at the ICC Women’s World Cup by being included in the Team of the Tournament.
Indian batter Mithali Raj was announced as the captain of the team on Monday.
The South African trio of Wolvaardt, Kapp and Van Niekerk were the mainstays of their team’s remarkable journey to the semi-finals, where they lost in dramatic fashion to eventual champions England in the last over.
But 18-year-old opener Wolvaardt, from Western Province, captured the imagination with her excellent scores at the top of the order, which saw her tally 324 runs – the most by any South African at the event – at an average of 64.80, with four half-centuries and a highest score of 71.
World number one-ranked bowler Kapp grabbed 13 wickets at an average of 19.38, while skipper Van Niekerk was the leading wicket-taker at the World Cup with 15 scalps, while she also scored 99 runs.
Champions England have four representatives – opener Tamsin Beaumont, who was named the Player of the Tournament as the leading run-scorer on 410 – star batter and wicket-keeper Sarah Taylor, and bowlers Anya Shrubsole and Alex Hartley.
Fellow finalists India, apart from captain Raj, also had Harmanpreet Kaur and Deepti Sharma make the cut.
Kaur will be long remembered for her incredible 171 not out off just 115 balls against Australia in the semi-finals, while Raj finished with 409 runs in the tournament, with a hundred and three half-centuries.
The team was chosen by a five-member panel – Geoff Allardice (ICC General Manager: Cricket, and chairman of the event technical committee), former West Indies fast bowler Ian Bishop, former England captain Charlotte Edwards, former India player-turned-journalist Snehal Pradhan and former Australia all-rounder Lisa Sthalekar.
ICC Women’s World Cup Team (in batting order)
Tamsin Beaumont (England): 410 runs
Laura Wolvaardt (South Africa): 324 runs
Mithali Raj (India, captain): 409 runs
Ellyse Perry (Australia): 404 runs, nine wickets
Sarah Taylor (England, wicket-keeper): 396 runs, four catches, two stumpings
Harmanpreet Kaur (India): 359 runs, five wickets
Deepti Sharma (India): 216 runs, 12 wickets
Marizanne Kapp (SA): 13 wickets
Dané van Niekerk (SA): 99 runs, 15 wickets
Anya Shrubsole (England): 12 wickets
Alex Hartley (England): 10 wickets
Natalie Sciver (12th player, England): 369 runs, seven wickets
@ashfakmohamed