1 year ago
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Marizanne Kapp and Dane van Niekerk some played for Oval Invincibles successful the women's Hundred| Hosts: South Africa Dates: 10-26 February |
| Coverage: Ball-by-ball Test Match Special commentary connected BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra and BBC Sport app. Live substance commentary and in-play video clips connected the BBC Sport website and app. |
Marizanne Kapp lets retired an exasperated laughter erstwhile asked however she's doing.
"I'm good," she says eventually. "Obviously it's been an affectional mates of days and weeks."
The South Africa all-rounder, who volition play an important relation successful a location T20 World Cup that begins connected Friday against Sri Lanka, volition statesman the tourney nether a cloud.
Her woman and erstwhile nationalist squad captain, Dane van Niekerk, was controversially omitted from the squad aft she failed a fittingness test.
Cricket South Africa (CSA) granted Kapp compassionate permission which meant she missed the last of a caller tri-series against India which South Africa won without her.
After the van Niekerk quality broke, Kapp tweeted she was "a woman FIRST and past a cricketer," and thanked CSA for their understanding.
"I don't deliberation radical realise however emotionally hard it tin beryllium for players," Kapp, 33, says. "Cricket is already truthful hard with the pressures you face. I'm truthful invested successful this team.
"Of people I didn't conscionable suffer a team-mate and a large player. My spouse won't beryllium determination for a location World Cup. It's truly upsetting."
Kapp has watched connected arsenic chap members of a aureate procreation person exited too.
Last year, during South Africa's circuit of England, the almighty opening batter Lizelle Lee retired from planetary cricket astatine the property of 29 implicit fears of being dropped, and truthful denied the accidental to play successful planetary franchise tournaments, due to the fact that of her ain fittingness struggles.
Mignon du Preez, different erstwhile captain, mislaid her cardinal declaration with CSA erstwhile she stepped distant from the 50-over format, portion the long-serving wicketkeeper, Trisha Chetty, was not selected for this latest squad.
"These things person affected maine massively," Kapp admits. "These are players I grew up playing with. They're my friends. I attraction astir them.
"When they permission it's difficult. I've questioned whether oregon not I wanted to transportation on. It puts truthful overmuch unit connected the elder players who enactment behind. I've felt a spot mislaid astatine times without them."
Kapp says that van Niekerk is "good" contempt the setback.
It's been a challenging 18 months for the mates who person some been icons of the crippled for much than a decade.
Van Niekerk, who captained the Oval Invincibles to glory successful the archetypal play of The Hundred successful 2021, missed past year's 50-over World Cup aft suffering a fractured ankle.
Then, earlier the Commonwealth Games successful Birmingham, Kapp withdrew from the lawsuit erstwhile she flew location to beryllium with her brother-in-law who was near successful intensive attraction with melodramatic pain wounds to his look aft an accident.
Compounding matters, Kapp has besides battled with 4 abstracted bouts of Covid successful this time.
"I'd beryllium lying if I said it wasn't difficult," Kapp says, earlier rapidly turning the speech backmost to her spouse.
"I'm bittersweet for Dane. She tried her best. It's not similar she didn't enactment highly hard. She started grooming past twelvemonth successful July. But erstwhile you're injured it's hard to drawback up."
Though Kapp wouldn't accidental outright whether oregon not she endorses CSA's strict fittingness standards - which requires players to decorativeness a 2 kilometre clip proceedings successful little than 9 minutes and 30 seconds - she did wonderment if determination should beryllium curated measures for idiosyncratic players, which CSA are looking at.
"Athletes are different," said Kapp. "If you gave maine 2 months to marque the request I could astir apt bash it.
"But for athletes similar Dane, who are not arsenic people fit, it tin beryllium much difficult. Every clip she did a trial she improved. She's truthful skilful. It's a shame she couldn't marque it.
"We'll miss her. Not conscionable for her skills but her tactics arsenic well. She's the champion skipper I've played under, and not conscionable due to the fact that she's my wife. She's a calved leader."
Without her, South Africa's tiny hopes of progressing beyond the radical signifier person diminished.
They'll apt person to bushed either the indomitable Australians oregon a well-rounded New Zealand squad to go the archetypal broadside from their state to scope the knockout circular of a location tournament.
Kapp's signifier is key. She believes she's played her "best cricket" during this tumultuous play and feels that she has been dealt a tricky manus by design.
"My religion has kept maine grounded," she says. "Whenever I've felt similar quitting I've prayed. I judge I'm being tested for a reason.
"Playing for my state is simply a privilege I instrumentality precise seriously. I've been blessed. This past twelvemonth was the toughest of my full career. It's been a messiness disconnected the field.
"But connected it, I've done well. I've recovered erstwhile I assistance my team-mates I rise my game. I inactive consciousness similar that's my purpose."
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