ICC WT20 Cup boasts first married couple to bat together

THUS far at the 2018 ICC Women’s World T20, just one record has fallen, with West Indies’ Deandra Dottin taking the best figures ever in the competition in the win against Bangladesh (five for five) on the opening day.

Now, the Caribbean-hosted tournament has gone down in the ICC record books yet again, but for a very different reason: playing host to the first married pair to ever bat together in a major ICC tournament.

South Africa captain Dane van Niekerk (33 not out) and her spouse, Marizanne Kapp (38) became the first married pair to bat together at an ICC landmark competition, when they came together with the Proteas wobbling at six for two. They would go on to put on a partnership of 67 to help their team successfully chase their target of 100 with nine balls to spare.

Van Niekerk and Kapp tied the knot last July in their home country in a ceremony attended by their teammates.

They both made their international debuts for South Africa in the space of two days during the 2009 Women’s World Cup, and both careers have made similar progress, with van Niekerk the leading One Day wicket-taker for South Africa, with Kapp also in the top-five. Both are also in the top 10 of South Africa’s all-time scorers having crossed the 1,500 mark this year.

When they agreed to their nuptials, they became the second couple among current international cricketers to be married, after the New Zealand pair of captain Amy Satterthwaite and Lea Tahuhu got married in March 2017.

With the Kiwi couple also in this current WT20 tournament, the South Africans, however, have beaten them to the punch, making the Darren Sammy Stadium in St Lucia the home of a major cricket record in terms of diversity, inclusivity and progression in the game.