Could Olympian Viljoen make Proteas return? 'The door is never closed'

Proteas head coach Hilton Moreeng did not close the door on Olympian Sunette Viljoen's potential call-up to the national squad.

Viljoen, who represented South Africa at four Olympic Games, has been in splendid form in Cricket South Africa's (CSA) ongoing Women's Provincial series.

The 39-year-old returned to professional cricket after representing the Proteas from 2000 to 2002, playing a Test and 17 ODIs for South Africa.

Viljoen then turned her attention to the track and field and represented South Africa in the javelin, claiming a silver medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics and sealing four Commonwealth Games medals.

Since stepping down from athletes in 2019, Viljoen has now returned to the cricket field and this time, has made her name for herself with the Titans Ladies.

In September, Titans Ladies opener Viljoen notched up a T20 half-century against Western Province as she scored 65 off 59 balls.

So far, Viljoen is the third-highest run-scorer in the one-day competition, making 133 runs in three games with an average of 44.33. 

The Proteas women completed a national camp as they prepare to host the ICC T20 Women's World Cup.

Earlier this year, Viljoen expressed a desire to make her return to the Proteas women's set-up ahead of the global showpiece.

When asked whether Viljoen could be called up, Moreeng stated that if the Olympian continued plying on the runs, she could receive the call-up.

"She has been putting in the performances and we've had a look into it. The door is never closed on some of those players, you never know it's a T20 game, anything is possible," the Proteas women's coach told reporters on Tuesday.

Moreeng did say, however, that having young faces will is vital to building towards a future with the 2025 Women's