Olhule Siyo to lead South Africa in the inaugural ICC U19 Women's T20 World Cup

Dec 08, 2022

Olhule Siyo to lead South Africa in the inaugural ICC U19 Women's T20 World Cup Image

Middle-order hitter Olhule Siyo will represent South Africa in the country's hosting of the ICC U19 Women's T20 World Cup from January 14 to 29, 2023, according to the Women's Selection Committee of Cricket South Africa (CSA).

The team will participate in the CSA Women's Super League, which will be hosted in Cape Town, to get ready for the main event. Left-arm spinner Madison Landman also serves as vice-captain.

In addition, from December 27, 2022, to January 4, 2023, at Tshwane's Tuks Oval, South Africa will compete in a five-match T20 series against Shafali Verma's India U19 team.

"As coaches and players, we have a great deal of responsibility in this inaugural event. We should be patriotic and certain that we can uphold the nation's honour as stewards of the game and our nation."

"I hope we continue to play the type of cricket we want to play and meet our performance standards. We recognise that anxiety may be nerve-wracking and aim to use it as motivation for our performances "said Dinesha Devnarain, head coach.

The first U19 Women's T20 World Cup match will be played at Willowmoore Park in Benoni on January 14 and will also feature the U19 teams from India and South Africa. Both teams are in Group D with Scotland and the United Arab Emirates.

The top three teams from each group will advance to the Super Six phase, where teams will be split into two groups of six, in the 16-team tournament that will feature 41 matches in Benoni and Potchefstroom and be divided into four groups.

"Any coach's dream is to have their team perform at their highest level during the competition and advance as far as they can. I want these young women to play the style of cricket that we've developed and laboured over, to show off their abilities and get as much knowledge as possible from the experience "Dinesha was added.

The top two teams from each group advance to the semi-final matches, which will take place on January 27 at Potchefstroom's JB Marks Oval. On January 29, the final will be held at the same location.

There is obviously a lot of excitement in the women's camp, especially given that we are hosting the important event, as this is the first U19 Women's World Cup that ICC will hold.

"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.