Dane Van Niekerk, Marizanne Kapp becomes 1st couple to bat together in an ICC tournament

Dane Van Niekerk and teammate Marizanne Kapp tied the knot in July this year with the South African women’s cricket team making the announcement on Instagram.

Dane van Niekerk and Marizanne Kapp became the first married couple to bat together in ICC tournament when they took the field for South Africa during their ICC Women’s World Cup match against Sri Lanka on Tuesday.

Van Niekerk and teammate Marizanne Kapp tied the knot in July this year with the South African women’s cricket team making the announcement on Instagram. Overall, they became the second set of current international teammates to get married after New Zealand’s Amy Satterthwaite and Lea Tahuhu.

Van Niekerk and Marizanne Kapp made their international debut within two days of each other during the 2009 World Cup and on Monday, the couple was involved in a 67-run partnership for the third wicket as South Africa cruised to a victory against Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the Women’s World T20 being held in the West Indies.

South Africa defeated Sri Lanka, whose first match against England got abandoned due to rain, by seven wickets in its first match of the tournament.

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South Africa’s seamers harried the Sri Lankan batters with pace; however, they also conceded 19 wides in the first innings of the game and restricted Sri Lanka to 99 for 8 in their 20 overs.

Shabnim Ismail, who was later declared player of the match, picked three-wickets to keep Sri Lanka under a hundred. South Africa skipper Van Neikerk and Marizanne Kapp took a wicket apiece and also shared a 67-run partnership for the third wicket to help South Africa get home in the 19th over.

Reflecting on her performance, Ismail said, “Yeah, I always say myself and Marizanne Kapp go hand in hand with the bowling. I told everyone in the world that we’re the best opening bowling combination, and we complement each other very well. And the way we performed today just displayed our talents out there today.”

(With agency inputs)