Dane van Niekerk has vowed to channel the legacies of Nelson Mandela and Siya Kolisi to help South Africa realise their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup dream.
The captain watched on last autumn as Kolisi led the country’s rugby team to World Cup glory, becoming a figurehead of South African and global sport with victory in Japan.
Few countries can match South Africa when it comes to the importance of sport and uniting a country, with former president Mandela impassioned by its power to change the world.
For Van Niekerk, the message rings true now more than ever as the Proteas bid to win a global cricket event for the first time in their history.
“Nelson Mandela said that sport can unite a nation, and that’s what we as sportspeople do, we try and bring the people together,” she said, speaking at the captains’ media day at Taronga Zoo, Sydney.
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