The Cricket South Africa (CSA) Women's Selection Committee has announced that middle-order batter Olhule Siyo will be leading South Africa in the inaugural edition of the ICC U19 Women's T20 World Cup to be held in the country from January 14-29, 2023.
The squad also has left-arm spinner Madison Landman as vice-captain and will prepare for the showpiece event by participating in the CSA Women's Super League, to be held in Cape Town. South Africa will also be playing in a five-match T20 series against India U19 side, to be captained by Shafali Verma, and will be held at the Tuks Oval in Tshwane, from December 27, 2022 to January 4, 2023.
"This inaugural event comes with a lot of responsibility for us as coaches and players. As custodians of the game, custodians of our country, we ought to be patriotic and know that we can make the country proud."
"I hope we stick to our performance benchmarks and the brand of cricket we want to play. We understand fear can be nerve-wrecking and we want to channel it into an opportunity to drive us to our performances," said head coach Dinesha Devnarain.
India and South Africa U19 teams will also play in the opening U19 Women's T20 World Cup match at Willowmoore Park, Benoni, on January 14. Both teams are in Group D alongside UAE and Scotland. In the 16-team tournament divided into four groups and set to host 41 matches in Benoni and Potchefstroom, top three teams from each group will progress to the Super Six round, where teams will be pooled into two groups of six.
"Our aim is to do our best in the competition and take this as far as we possibly can; that's any coaches' dream. I want these young women to play the brand of cricket that we've developed and worked hard on, to go and go and showcase their skills and take as many learnings from the experience," added Dinesha.
The top two teams from each group will then progress to the semi-finals, which will be played on January 27 at JB Marks Oval in Potchefstroom. The final will take place at the same venue on January 29. "This is the first time that ICC will be hosting an U19 Women's World Cup, so naturally, there's loads of excitement within the women's camp, especially now that we are hosting the prestigious event."
"The SA U19 Coach, Dinesha Devnarain, has been preparing the squad for the past year, and I have no doubt that they will be up for the challenge of this exciting event," said Vincent Barnes, CSA High-Performance Manager.
South Africa Squad: Elandri Janse Van Rensburg, Simone Lourens, Anica Swart, Karabo Meso, Madison Landsman (vice-captain), Oluhle Siyo (captain), Kayla Reyneke, Jenna Evans, Miane Smit, Ayanda Hlubi, Seshnie Naidu, Refilwe Moncho, Mona Lisa Legodi, Nthabiseng Nini, and Jemma Botha.
Non Travelling Reserves: Caitlin Wyngaard, Diara Ramlakan.