Van Niekerk, Ismail Return for South Africa in Au-w Vs Sa-w Opener
Dane van Niekerk and Shabnim Ismail are back in South Africa’s squad for au-w vs sa-w, a Saturday opener against Australia at Old Trafford that already carries knockout-stage weight. The match sits in a group with India, and only the top two teams will advance, so South Africa cannot afford a slow start.
Old Trafford and the opener
South Africa last beat Australia in the 2024 T20 World Cup semi-final in Dubai, a result that ended Australia’s three-peat hopes. This time, the teams meet again with a different South Africa setup and the same opponent across the line.
Laura Wolvaardt said the returning pair may be the pieces South Africa needed, and that the group believes it can win the tournament. She also said the side had outgrown the “dark horse” label after reaching three consecutive appearances in major World Cup finals across the 2023 and 2024 T20 tournaments and the 2025 ODI World Cup.
Wolvaardt's reset
“Hopefully they (are) the missing pieces that we needed,” Wolvaardt said on Friday about Ismail and van Niekerk. The captain added that home support has shifted the team’s mindset: “But this time, especially back at home, it feels like a sense that people want us to go all the way and to win the World Cup.”
She tied that expectation to belief inside the squad. “It's also kind of given the group a sense of belief that if all these people are saying we can actually win the comp, then surely we can... I think the group really believes that we have the talent in the room to win the tournament,” she said.
Mandla Mashimbyi's backing
Mandla Mashimbyi, appointed South Africa coach in late 2024, has reinforced that message. Wolvaardt said he believes in the players “100 per cent” and “doesn't really care who we're playing against,” adding that he thinks South Africa can beat any side if it executes well.
Australia still enters as the standard South Africa has to chase. Wolvaardt called them “the number one side in the world for a very long time” and said South Africa will need to be at its best, while Sophie Molineux said Australia will have plans to counter Ismail and van Niekerk. South Africa have beaten Australia three times in international women's cricket, and all three wins came in 2024, but their most recent ODI World Cup meeting went heavily Australia’s way.
That leaves Saturday’s match at Old Trafford as more than a first outing. It is an immediate test of South Africa’s upgraded squad, and the result will shape how much margin they have left in a group where only two teams move on.
