As the 2025 ICC Women’s ODI World Cup draws closer, South Africa enters the tournament with a refreshed squad and renewed ambitions under the leadership of Laura Wolvaardt, who takes over from former skipper Sune Luus.
South Africa had a strong run in the 2022 edition in New Zealand, finishing second in the league stage with 11 points from seven matches. However, their campaign ended abruptly courtesy of a crushing 137-run semi-final defeat against England at Christchurch. Now, with the tournament being staged across India and Sri Lanka from 30th September to 2nd November 2025, the Proteas have made some significant changes to their squad, building a lineup that combines youth, experience, and multi-dimensional skill sets.
The absence of stalwarts such as Shabnim Ismail, Lizelle Lee, Mignon du Preez, and veteran wicketkeeper Trisha Chetty, all of whom have since retired from international cricket, opens the door for a new generation to shape South African cricket’s global narrative. The Proteas’ final 15, alongside reserves, introduces six new names since 2022: Anneke Bosch, Nadine de Klerk, Annerie Dercksen, Karabo Meso, Nondumiso Shangase, and reserve Miane Smit. Each of these players brings a unique dimension, giving South Africa greater structural depth and flexibility as they prepare to open their campaign against none other than England on 3rd October 2025 at Guwahati.
Anneke Bosch: Experience Meets Opportunity
Anneke Bosch has long been on the fringes of South Africa’s first choice XI. But at 32, she finally receives a maiden World Cup opportunity, a late but deserved reward for years of persistence. Since making her ODI debut against Australia in 2016, Bosch has featured in 21 matches, scoring 361 runs at an average of 24.06 and a strike rate of 74.74, with two half-centuries to her name. While her numbers may not leap off the page, her versatility as both a steady top-order option and a handy medium-pace bowler (1 wicket in 7 innings at a 5.15 economy) has elevated her value to the squad. With Lee and du Preez gone, Bosch could play the role of offering solidity in the middle order, a department the Proteas stumbled in during crunch matches in 2022.
Nadine de Klerk: The All-round Glue
If there is one player who embodies South Africa’s modern all-round ambitions, it’s Nadine de Klerk. Still only 25, De Klerk is already into her second ODI World Cup, having been part of the squad as a teenager in 2017. Now, she arrives with far more maturity and international seasoning. With the bat, she has compiled 713 runs in 40 innings at a strike rate of 78.78 and an average of 23, highlighted by two fifties. With the ball, she has been even more impactful—54 wickets in 47 matches at an average of 29.03 and economy of 4.95, including a career-best four-for. Few players in this squad balance roles with as much significance as De Klerk, whose energy, adaptability, and balance with bat and ball provide captain Wolvaardt with a game-changing pivot during pressure situations.
Annerie Dercksen: The New Spark in the All-round Department
At just 24, Annerie Dercksen has emerged as one of the most exciting new-age all-rounders in South Africa’s pool. She only made her ODI debut in June 2024 against India in Bengaluru but has wasted no time proving her credentials. In just 11 matches, she has scored 399 runs at an imposing average of 39.90 and a strike rate touching 99.50, including a century and two half-centuries. With the ball, she has contributed 10 wickets at 24.30 despite a slightly expensive economy of 6.45. For the Proteas, who were often heavily reliant on their frontline bowlers and top-order batters in 2022, Dercksen’s rise offers the perfect counterbalance, a true middle-order dynamo who can take the game away with bat or ball.
Karabo Meso: The Teenager in the Spotlight
At just 17 years of age, Karabo Meso represents the boldest call South Africa has made for this World Cup. Drafted in as the wicketkeeper-batter to fill the void left by Chetty’s retirement, Meso is making rapid strides in senior international cricket. Since debuting against India in April 2025, she has had a quiet start with 16 runs in two innings, but her promise lies not only in her batting but also in her agility behind the stumps, a department that will be under immense scrutiny in subcontinental conditions. This World Cup is less about instant numbers for Meso and more about embedding her into South Africa’s long-term project.
Nondumiso Shangase: The All-round Option with Experience
At 29, Nondumiso Shangase is another player making her maiden World Cup appearance, despite having debuted in ODIs back in 2019. A batting all-rounder by trade, Shangase has collected 158 runs at 14.36 with one fifty across 11 innings, while her off-spin has produced 8 wickets in 15 innings. Her true value, however, may lie in the variety she offers as the squad’s additional spin option, particularly with the World Cup being hosted in India and Sri Lanka, conditions could suit her more than ever before. Shangase, therefore, is likely to be used tactically when surfaces demand containment or sharp off spin.
Maine Smit: A Promising Travelling Reserve with all-round potential
South Africa has invested in youth by naming 20-year-old Miane Smit as a travelling reserve. With only a couple of ODIs under her belt since her debut in May 2025, Smit has shown glimpses of promise with both bat and ball: 47 runs at 23.50 and 1 wicket at 55.00 from two matches. While unlikely to feature prominently unless injury strikes, Smit’s exposure to the World Cup environment at this formative stage could be critical in fast-tracking her development into a future mainstay.
The South Africa of 2025 is not the same team that played in New Zealand three years ago. With legends like Ismail, Chetty, du Preez, and Lee having bowed out, the Proteas are embracing a new chapter centered around a younger, dynamic, and versatile core under Wolvaardt. This balance of youth and utility fits ideally into subcontinental demands, where adaptability could trump sheer star power.
How effectively players like Dercksen and Bosch shoulder responsibility, De Klerk solidifies her role as the heartbeat of the side, and Meso and Shangase seize their chances in difficult conditions may well determine how far South Africa goes this time. What remains certain is that the Proteas are not just rebuilding, they are reimagining themselves for a World Cup campaign that promises to test their resilience, adaptability, and ambition in equal measure.
