Free State women's cricket team explained

The Free State women's cricket team, also known as Recon Tactical Free State and previously known as Orange Free State women's cricket team, is the women's representative cricket team for the South African province of Free State. They compete in the CSA Women's One-Day Cup and the CSA Women's T20 Challenge.^[1]

History

The side first played as Orange Free State in the 1952–53 season of the Simon Trophy, losing in the final of the competition.^[2] As Free State, they first appeared in the 1996–97 season of the Women's Inter-Provincial Tournament, although the full results for the tournament are unrecorded.^[3] They have competed in every season of the tournament since.^[1] They reached the quarter-finals of the competition in 2004–05, as well as finishing 4th in both 2007–08 and 2018–19.^{[4] [5] [6]}

They have also competed in the CSA Women's Provincial T20 Competition since its inception in 2012–13, including finishing 4th in the first competition.^[7] They have also finished third in the Top 6 league of the competition twice, in 2016–17 and 2019–20.^{[8] [9]}

In the 2022–23 season, Free State topped Division 2 Pool A in the Women's Provincial Programme before defeating Northern Cape in the subsequent play-off to gain promotion.^[10] In August 2023, it was announced that a new professional domestic system would be implemented for women's cricket in South Africa. Therefore, as one of the six teams in the top division of the two domestic competitions, Free State would be allowed eleven professional players from the 2023–24 season onwards.^{[11] [12]}

Players

Current squad

Based on appearances in the 2023–24 season. Players in bold have international caps.^[13]

Name	Nationality	Notes
			Zintle Kula
Elandri Janse van Rensburg
Pretty Molefe
Mampe Ntsane
Yolandi Potgieter
Verunissa Reddy
Miane Smit
Anica Swart
Mignon van der Merwe
Christen van Wyk
Evodia Yekile
Yamkela Zangqa

Notable players

Players who have played for Free State and played internationally are listed below, in order of first international appearance (given in brackets):^[14]

• Cindy Eksteen (1997)
• Leslie Korkie (1997)
• Cri-Zelda Brits (2002)
• Susan Benade (2005)
• Annelie Minny (2007)
• Masabata Klaas (2010)
• Yolandi Potgieter (2013)
• Anneke Bosch (2016)
• Annerie Dercksen (2023)

Honours

• CSA Women's One-Day Cup:
  • Winners (0):
  • Best finish: 4th (2007–08 & 2018–19)
• CSA Women's T20 Challenge:
  • Winners (0):
  • Best finish: 3rd (2016–17 & 2019–20)

See also

• Free State (cricket team)

Notes and References

1. Web site: Free State Women . CricketArchive . 2 February 2022.
2. Web site: Simon Trophy 1952/53 . CricketArchive . 3 March 2022.
3. Web site: Women's Inter-Provincial Tournament 1996/97 . CricketArchive . 2 February 2022.
4. Web site: Women's Provincial League 2004/05 . CricketArchive . 2 February 2022.
5. Web site: Women's Provincial League 2007/08 . CricketArchive . 2 February 2022.
6. Web site: CSA Women's Provincial League 2018/19 . CricketArchive . 2 February 2022.
7. Web site: CSA Women's Provincial T20 Competition 2012/13 . CricketArchive . 2 February 2022.
8. Web site: CSA Women's Provincial T20 Competition 2016/17 . CricketArchive . 2 February 2022.
9. Web site: CSA Women's Provincial T20 Competition 2019/20 . CricketArchive . 2 February 2022.
10. Web site: Pristine Potgieter Guides Free State to Promotion Into Division One . Cricket South Africa . 24 April 2023 . 25 October 2023.
11. Web site: CSA Celebrates Landmark Moment in Women's Cricket with the Launch of Professional Domestic Women's League . Cricket South Africa . 23 August 2023 . 25 October 2023.
12. Web site: South Africa's women's team to get equal match fees as the men . ESPNcricinfo . 22 August 2023 . 25 October 2023.
13. Web site: CSA Women's Professional League 2023/24 . CricketArchive . 25 October 2023.
14. Web site: Free State Women Players . CricketArchive . 2 February 2022.