Allrounder Annerie Dercksen, who was named the ICC’s Emerging Women’s Cricketer of the Year for 2024, has earned her first national contract for South Africa. Dercksen was named on a 15-player list for the 2025-26 season which excludes Lara Goodall and Delmi Tucker from last year’s group.
Goodall and Tucker have been on the fringes of the first-choice squad while Dercksen has established herself across all formats and appears regularly, leading to her promotion.
The rest of the contracted squad includes familiar and experienced names including captain Laura Wolvaardt, former captain Sune Luus, allrounders Chloe Tryon and Nadine de Klerk, senior batter and seamer Anneke Bosch and Ayabonga Khaka and left-arm spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba.
Significantly for South Africa, Marizanne Kapp is also among the group, underlining her commitment to continue playing international cricket after being talked out of retirement early last year. She is understood to be considering this year’s ODI World Cup as a swansong but with the next T20 World Cup 15 months away, may also be eyeing that tournament as well.
There are no new names among the squad, which demonstrates the consistency in South African selection but could point to concerns about the next generation coming through. Under-19 wicketkeeper batter, Karabo Meso, for example, who has already been capped at senior level was not considered for a national contract despite being named batter and player of the recently completed SA20 Schools competition. However, South Africa’s director of cricket Enoch Nkwe is pleased with the continued development of the current players and sought to reward them for that.
“The continuity in the squad recognises the team’s outstanding achievement in reaching a second consecutive World Cup final, highlighting CSA’s commitment to rewarding consistent performance and building on the team’s recent success on the global stage,” he said, in a statement. “As we prepare for a pivotal year with the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in India, this squad offers the right balance of experience and youthful energy. We believe this group is well-equipped to compete at the highest level and continue making the country proud.”
South Africa have been on an extended break since December, when they hosted England at home and won only one of the seven matches across all formats. They head to Sri Lanka in April for a tri-series which also includes India in preparation for the ODI World Cup, and will also play a series in West Indies for three ODIs and three T20Is in June before the tournament.
South Africa contracted squad: Anneke Bosch, Tazmin Brits, Nadine de Klerk, Annerie Dercksen, Ayanda Hlubi, Sinalo Jafta, Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka, Masabata Klaas, Suné Luus, Eliz-Mari Marx, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Tumi Sekhukhune, Chloé Tryon, Laura Wolvaardt
