EXCLUSIVE: Proteas women's captain Dane van Niekerk chats to Sport24

Sport24 asked: How did you sustain your freak ankle injury?

Dane van Niekerk:  I was at home and went down to feed my dogs. It was raining and I tried to hop down a wall by the pool. As I went down, I slipped and landed on my foot but unfortunately because of the uneven ground I heard a snap in my ankle. I immediately knew that my World Cup was in danger, which was devastating. The physical pain I felt didn’t come close to the emotional pain of not going to the tournament... It’s close to a month now since I broke my ankle, so I will be in the moonboot for another two weeks and then I start with rehab. I will do two months of rehab and then hopefully be back on the park by the end of March or the beginning of April if all goes well. It’s very frustrating not being involved with the team. I always have my captain’s cap on and sometimes I want to run onto the field and shout out some tactics. I feel very responsible for the team and felt like I let them down by breaking my ankle. I love my teammates and when they lose it hurts me more. It’s very difficult for me to sit on the side-lines and I don’t think many people understand how tough it is. But the team is in good hands and what they have achieved without me speaks for itself.

Sport24 asked: How have you enjoyed your commentary stint?

Dane van Niekerk: I would obviously rather be playing at this moment but I’m enjoying the commentary, which is a different avenue. I have played cricket for 15 years already, so I’m starting to look for interests post-playing career. Commentary is something I thoroughly enjoy and hopefully I can make a future out of it. As a cricketer, you just rock up at the game and play. That’s all you worry about and you don’t understand what goes on