"It’s due and it’s well-deserved": Dane van Niekerk

Prior to the World T20, South Africa captain Dane van Niekerk addressed the media about their plans, the atmosphere, the growth of Women's Cricket and many more. South Africa had good series against the West Indies last month where both the ODIs and T20Is ended in a draw.



"Last month was really good. We spent a good month. Obviously, it was challenging, a lot of difference but we had a sneak preview of the condition which gave us the opportunity to find the plans. We are really excited about the opportunity to play in the different places in the West Indies with different conditions that we expect. It will be an amazing experience."



Women's Cricket has been seeing a huge growth for the last couple of years. This year's ICC World T20 is going to be the first-ever stand-alone tournament of the year. "It’s due and it’s well-deserved," said Dane van Niekerk, "it deserves the alone time.”



"The way has grown, it's been so fast, you have to pinch yourself to see how quickly it’s grown. And the entertainment factor is there now – bigger hits, quicker bowlers, athletic players, it's a lot more exciting," she further added. "I think it's well-deserved for women's cricket at the moment and hopefully we can do justice to the tournament."



van Niekerk is hopeful about team's win this year. "We have experienced players, young players and exciting players, so, this is our best chance to win."



"Fearlessness" - this is the only message she wants to give the younger players. "The young ones are fearless. It’s exciting for me to see and watch them. I want them to flourish and just have fun."



DRS will be used for the first time in this tournament. Talking about that, she shared, "We are not at all experienced. This would be my first time. And the only one we can use. We had chatted about it, this is going to be a new experience. We are excited about that and hopefully, we can use this for our benefit."



Whether the call will be captain's or not, she explained, "I always talk to the keeper because they play a massive role as they can see if it’s hit or not. I back any player to use it as we are a team. If you think it’s out, then it’s probably out. I think keeper’s gonna be the most important player for this decisions."



Un-official warm-up games have seen a huge support from the audience. "It was bit close and the atmosphere was the best, it’s far like an official game. Though it was an un-official game, everyone was around. I got a bit nervous but they kept on telling it's warm-up game. Obviously, with the West Indies-England game, the way Windies played, it showed what a team can do when the crowd is behind them."