Woman cricketers awarded high-performance contracts

GEORGE NEWS - Cricket South Africa (CSA) has announced the players who have been awarded high-performance contracts ahead of the 2022/23 campaign as part of the development pipeline that caters towards the Momentum Proteas.

The contracted squad falls under the CSA high-performance structure. The players are closely monitored and go on to represent the SA Emerging side, while they are also invited to training camps featuring the Proteas Women players.

10-player list

The 10-player list are Micaela Andrews (Six Gun Grill SWD), Nobulumko Baneti (Hollywoodbets KwaZulu-Natal Coastal), Anneke Bosch (Senwes Dragons), Nadine de Klerk (Six Gun Grill Western Province), Tebogo Macheke (Limpopo), Raisibe Ntozakhe (Imperial Lions), Nondumiso Shangase (Hollywoodbets KwaZulu-Natal Coastal), Andrie Steyn (Six Gun Grill Western Province), Faye Tunnicliffe (Six Gun Grill Western Province) and Jane Winster (Six Gun Grill SWD).

The group includes six Proteas-capped stars, including Nadine de Klerk, Raisibe Ntozakhe and Andrie Steyn, the three travelling reserves for South Africa at the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup in New Zealand.

Anneke Bosch, who missed out on the World Cup because of injury, also received a high-performance contract, in addition to Nondumiso Shangase and Faye Tunnicliffe, who have also notched up national caps.

The rest of the group is made up of budding cricketers such as the newly crowned SWD Player of the Season, Micaela Andrews and spinner Jane Winster.

All of these players were in attendance at the Proteas national training camp held in Tshwane from 5 to 20 May. De Klerk, Ntozakhe, Steyn and Bosch were also named as part of national team travelling for the tour to Ireland for three T20 internationals and three one-day internationals.

Praise

"The CSA high-performance contracts are offered to talented players who are part of the provincial system and are identified based on their performances and the skill set required at the national level," said CSA Senior Cricket manager Johan Weyers.

"It's a two-year contract whereby players can focus on improving their overall skills and closing the performance gaps between provincial cricket and their national peers. The contracted players will also be invited to the high-performance and national camps. This helps focus on the high-performance players, while measuring them against the nationally contracted players and preparing them for what's required at international level."

CSA chief executive Pholetsi Moseki congratulated the players on behalf of CSA and wished them well for the next chapter of their journey. He said the grit and determination they have shown to get to this point deserve the reward of stability that allows them to narrow in on enhancing their talents. It helps pave the way toward earning a senior cap and representing the Proteas badge.

"We look forward to seeing their continuous progress through the ranks and hope to see them on the field inspiring the current and future generations of women's cricket as South Africa prepares to host the inaugural u.19 Women's T20 World Cup and ICC Women's T20 Cricket World Cup early next year," Moseki said.