A leg-spinning all-rounder who turns the ball prodigiously, Dane van Niekerk made her international debut for South Africa at the 2009 World Cup in Australia, playing in South Africa's loss to the West Indies in the group stages, and then taking 3 for 11 as South Africa beat Sri Lanka in the 7th place play-off later in the tournament.

In 2013 she took a hat-trick on her way to figures of 5 for 28 against the West Indies in St. Kitts; and also that year scored her first international half-century against Pakistan.

A year later, at the Women's World T20 in Bangladesh in 2014, against Pakistan, she shared the highest ever undefeated partnership in women's international T20 history - an unbroken opening-wicket stand of 163 with Lizelle Lee.

Drafted by the Melbourne Renegades for the inaugural Women's Big Bash League, she scored 267 runs in the tournament at a Strike Rate of 99, and took 9 wickets with a best of 4 for 20.

Internationally, by 2015 she had arguably become South Africa's most important player, having taken 129 international wickets and scored 1899 international runs, up to and including the 2016 Women's World T20. So when long-standing Women Proteas skipper Mignon du Preez decided to step-down from the role after that tournament, van Niekerk was the obvious candidate to succeed her, and she was officially appointed South African captain in June 2016. Syd Egan