Dane van Niekerk

International career

Dané van Niekerk, born on May 14, 1993, in Pretoria, South Africa, is a well-known cricketer. She grew up in Centurion and attended Hoërskool Centurion. Van Niekerk is a right-handed batter and a leg break bowler. She played for South Africa in all formats: Test matches, One Day Internationals (ODIs), and Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) from 2009 to 2021.

From 2016 to 2021, she was the captain of the South African women's cricket team. During her career, van Niekerk became the first South African bowler to take 100 wickets in WODIs. Her leadership and skills on the field made her an important figure in South African cricket.

2009:

• March 8: Debuted in WODI for South Africa against the West Indies at Newcastle.
• June 11: Debuted in WT20I for South Africa against the West Indies at Taunton.
• Selected for the South Africa women’s team in the 2009 Women's Cricket World Cup in Australia.
• Played in the 2009 Women's World Twenty20.

2010:

• Played in the Women's World Twenty20.

2012:

• Played in the Women's World Twenty20.

2013:

• January: Became the first South African woman to take an international hat-trick with figures of 5/28 in an ODI against the West Indies.
• February: Scored her first ODI half-century (55 not out) during a World Cup match against Pakistan.
• March: Shared a partnership of 128 runs with Marizanne Kapp, setting the record for the highest South African partnership for the 6th wicket.

2014:

• January: Took her second ODI five-wicket haul (5/17) against Pakistan, the first South African woman to achieve two five-wicket hauls in ODIs.
• March: Scored 90 in a Women's World T20I match against Pakistan, forming a 163-run unbroken partnership with Lizelle Lee, setting the record for the second-highest individual score in T20I by a South African woman.
• Played in the Women's World Twenty20.

2016:

• June 21: Appointed as South Africa women's captain for all formats (Test, ODI, and T20I) following Mignon du Preez's decision to step down.
• Played in the 2016 Women's World Twenty20.

2017:

• February: Became the seventh player to reach 1,000 runs and take 100 wickets in WODIs, and the first South African to achieve this milestone.
• Set a record as the first bowler (male or female) to take four wickets in international cricket history without conceding a single run.
• Became the leading wicket-taker in the 2017 ICC Women’s World Cup with 15 wickets.
• December: Named in the ICC Women's ODI Team of the Year.

2018:

• March: Awarded a national contract by Cricket South Africa for the 2018–19 season.
• October: Captained South Africa in the 2018 ICC Women's World Twenty20 in the West Indies, where she was the joint-leading wicket-taker for South Africa, with six wickets in four matches.

2019:

• February: Scored her first WODI century against Sri Lanka, becoming the fourth South African woman to reach 2,000 runs in WODIs.
• Became the fourth woman to achieve the double of 2,000 runs and 100 wickets in WODIs.
• August: Named Women's Cricketer of the Year at Cricket South Africa's annual award ceremony.

2020:

• January: Appointed as captain for South Africa’s 2020 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup squad in Australia.
• July 23: Named in South Africa's 24-woman squad to begin training in Pretoria ahead of their tour to England.

2021:

• September 4: Played her last WT20I for South Africa against the West Indies at North Sound.
• September 19: Played her last WODI for South Africa against the West Indies at North Sound.

2023:

• March: Announced her retirement from international cricket after being left out of the squad for the 2023 ICC Women's T20 World Cup due to fitness concerns.

2024:

• July: Announced her return to international cricket after reversing her retirement decision.

Leagues Participation

Dané van Niekerk played in several major T20 leagues during her career. She was part of the Oval Invincibles from 2021 to 2023 in the Women's Hundred. In the Women's Big Bash League, she began with the Melbourne Renegades in the 2015/16 season. From 2016/17 to 2020/21, she played for the Sydney Sixers. In the 2021/22 season, she joined the Adelaide Strikers.

Women's Hundred

Dane van Niekerk played for the Oval Invincibles in the Women's Hundred from 2021 to 2023. She was the team captain in 2021 and 2022. In 2021, she helped the team win their first match, and they finished in the top three. Van Niekerk also guided them to victory in the final. In 2022, she captained the team again but only played three matches due to injury. Unfortunately, in 2023, she broke her right finger and could not continue in the tournament, although she scored 44 runs in the matches she did play.

Year	Team	Runs	Wickets	Notes
2021	Oval Invincibles	259	165	Captain; led the team to victory in the first match, finished in the top three, and won the final.
2022	Oval Invincibles	19	21	Played three matches due to injury; captained when Kapp was absent. Lost final to Southern Brave.
2023	Oval Invincibles	44	0	Played in the tournament but missed the rest due to a broken right finger.

Women's Big Bash League

Dane van Niekerk played in the Women's Big Bash League for several teams. She started with the Melbourne Renegades in 2015/16. Then, she joined the Sydney Sixers and played for them until 2020/21. During her time with the Sixers, she took a hat-trick in a match against the Hobart Hurricanes in 2017. In 2021, she joined the Adelaide Strikers and played for them in 2021/22, helping the team reach the finals. However, in 2022, she broke her ankle before the Women's Cricket World Cup and missed a few months of play.

Year	Team	Runs	Notes
2015/16	Melbourne Renegades	275	Played for the Melbourne Renegades in her first WBBL season.
2016/17	Sydney Sixers	76	Played for Sydney Sixers. Took 2/16 in a match against Hobart Hurricanes.
2017/18	Sydney Sixers	145	Took a hat-trick against Hobart Hurricanes.
2018/19	Sydney Sixers	174	Part of the Sydney Sixers team in the 2018/19 season.
2019/20	Sydney Sixers	125	Helped Sydney Sixers beat Melbourne Stars.
2020/21	Sydney Sixers	166	Continued playing for Sydney Sixers in the 2020/21 season.
2021/22	Adelaide Strikers	356	Played for Adelaide Strikers in 2021/22 and helped them reach the WBBL finals before breaking her ankle.

Domestic career

Dane van Niekerk began her domestic career with Highveld Women and Northerns Women. She became one of the first two South African women, along with Marizanne Kapp, to join the Eastern Province cricket academy. In 2015, she played for the Melbourne Renegades in the first season of the Australian Women's Big Bash League. In November 2018, she was included in the Sydney Sixers squad for the 2018–19 Women's Big Bash League.

In 2019, she was part of the Devnarain XI squad for the first Women's T20 Super League in South Africa. In 2021, van Niekerk was selected by Oval Invincibles for the first season of The Hundred, where she became the highest run-scorer. She returned to Oval Invincibles for the 2022 season. In 2023, she was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore for the Women's Premier League and later joined Sunrisers as their captain. She re-signed with Sunrisers for part of the 2024 season. For the 2024/25 South African domestic season, she joined Western Province.

Records and Achievements

Dane van Niekerk has made a lasting impact as a leader and player for the South African women's cricket team.

Here are some of her notable records and achievements:

• 2017: Selected for the ICC Women’s ODI Team of the Year.
• 2018: Became captain of the South African team for the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 in the West Indies.
• 2019:
  • Won Women’s Cricketer of the Year at the Cricket South Africa Awards.
  • Played for Melbourne Renegades in the Women’s Big Bash League, scoring 30 runs (27 balls) and taking 2/15.
  • Led South Africa to success in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.
• 2020: Appointed captain of South Africa at the ICC Women's T20 World Cup in Australia.

Personal life

Dane van Niekerk has led a well-publicized life both on and off the field. Her personal life is often discussed, especially her relationships, finances, and some controversies she has faced. Despite challenges, she continues to maintain a large fan base and a strong career in cricket.

Family

Dane married her teammate Marizanne Kapp in July 2018. Her father, Francois van Niekerk, was a cricketer who played for the Eastern Province and Northern Transvaal B teams. He also coached the Norths team. Her mother, San Marie van Niekerk, supported Dane’s early cricket career. Dane's brother, Diwan van Niekerk, also plays cricket at various levels.

Finances

As of January 2025, her net worth is around $3.2 million. 

Cars and House

Dane and her wife live in a house near Gkeberch. She has a collection of cars that includes an Audi Q5 and an Audi A4.

Scandals

In 2021, social media posts became a topic of controversy when Marizanne Kapp shared hurtful messages that criticized Dane’s cricket skills. In 2020, she was criticized for a comment about the World Cup final, where she said it would be better to lose than to get a free pass. Dane later clarified that the comment was not aimed at any specific team. In 2022, an ankle injury prevented her from playing in the World Cup. The injury happened when she accidentally fell while feeding her dogs.

Fans

In 2023, fans were confused when Dane was not selected for the South African World Cup team because she did not meet a running test requirement. Despite this, her strong performance with the Oval Invincibles in 2021 sparked many discussions. Dane has a following of 78,000 people on Instagram.