Dane van Niekerk ruled out of quadrangular series after sustaining a foot injury

South African women’s team captain Dane van Niekerk will miss any action for the next 4-6 weeks after sustaining a foot injury. Reports from Cricket South Africa revealed that he had suffered a Type 1 tear of the plantar capsule and will miss the quadrangular series also featuring Ireland, India and Zimbabwe as the other teams. The series commences on May 7, Sunday.

The hosts of the tournament haven’t named a replacement for Niekerk but is expected to name a stand-in captain pretty shortly. It will be a big loss for the South African unit given the credentials of Niekerk. In 78 ODI’s she has scored 1347 runs at an average of 32. She has also bagged 105 wickets at an impressive average of 18 and a terrific economy rate of 3.52.

Coach Hilton Moreeng expressed disappointment at the absence of Niekerk but he hopes that the star all-rounder will be able to recover in time and take part in the 2017 ICC Women’s World Cup in England and Wales. “It’s not ideal to lose our captain in the last stages of our preparation for the World Cup, but this is a good opportunity for someone to step up to the plate and fulfil this key all-rounder role in the squad,” Moreeng was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz. “We wish Dane a very speedy recovery and look forward to having her back.”

South African began their campaign in the 4 nation series with the warm-up clash against Ireland followed by their mainstream match against Zimbabwe. The final of the tournament will be played on May 21 at the Senwes Park in Potchefstroom.

A leg-spinning all-rounder Niekerk broke onto the scene in the 2009 World Cup in Australia and made her presence felt from the very first tournament. She bagged a hat-trick in 2013 and it was the very year she scored her first maiden ODI fifty.