Dunedin : South Africa opener Lizelle Lee is going to miss her team’s opening match in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup against Bangladesh on March 5 at the University Oval in Dunedin.
Lizelle, who was named the ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year earlier in 2022, had not travelled with the South Africa team to New Zealand as her wife Tanja was due to give birth to their first child Wiaan, which eventually happened on February 22.
“She only arrived last Sunday, courtesy of agreement between the ICC, Cricket South Africa (CSA), the South Africa Cricketers’ Association (SACA) and New Zealand Cricket (NZC), but now under the New Zealand government’s Covid-19 regulations has to complete her mandatory seven-day Managed Isolation and Quarantine (MIQ) period,” said a report by IOL News on Wednesday.
“Lizelle has begun her MIQ period. She will join up with the squad on (next) Sunday — obviously missing out the opening match,” South Africa women’s manager Lita Gqirana was quoted as saying in the report.
Earlier, in January this year, Lizelle became the first player from South Africa to win the ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year, beating competition from England’s Tammy Beaumont, West Indies’ Hayley Matthews and Pakistan’s Fatima Sana.
“I didn’t expect this. Its a massive honour. It’s amazing and very privileged and honoured to receive the award. It means a lot to me. There are so many people I can give credit to. My family has been my number one supporter, my parents and wife (Tanja) and I have to give credit to the coaching staff, if it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t even be able to play,” said Lizelle in her acceptance speech to ICC.
Lizelle was in a league of her own in ODIs in 2021, finishing as the highest run-scorer in the format, scoring 632 runs in 11 matches at an average of 90.28 with one century and five half-centuries. She was unstoppable on the tour of India in March 2021, racking up big runs in the Proteas’ 4-1 series win.
With 288 runs, including a hundred and two fifties, she ended the series as the highest run-scorer and was awarded the Player of the Series. She carried her great form over to the tour of West Indies and became the top run-getter in the series.
Lizelle had missed the recent ODI series against the West Indies due to Covid-19 infection. South Africa, who reached the semi-finals in the 2017 Women’s Cricket World Cup, play their second match in the 2022 World Cup on March 11 against Pakistan at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui.
The Sune Luus-led side had lost both warm-up matches against India and England by two runs and six wickets respectively.
–IANS