Mignon du Preez

Mignon du Preez is one of the most celebrated female cricketers. A South African top-order wicket-keeper batswoman who has been playing the sport for over a decade and has also captained her country in 46 ODIs, 50 T20Is, and a solitary Test match. The first female South African to play 100 ODIs, the first women Proteas to play 100 T20Is, the first female South African to score 1000 runs in the shortest format. Hence, there are very rare milestones that du Preez hasn’t crossed. 

A young 12-year-old du Preez came into the limelight when she slammed 258 runs in a 40-over game in 2002. The Prodigy didn’t disappoint at the domestic level and made her international debut in January 2007. Aged 17-years, du Preez had a subtle start to her career with scores of 13 and 18 in her first two ODI. However, the youngster didn’t take too long to announce herself as she smashed her maiden half-century in the third game against Pakistan. She followed it up with a record-breaking stand of 224 runs with Johmari Logtenberg, where the youngster scored 81 off just 99 balls. 

After making her mark in the 50-over format, du Preez made her T20 debut, in 2007, and later got selected for the 2009 World T20, held in England. Du Preez got the leadership role in 2011 that led to Du Preez and South Africa’s success. She scored her maiden century during the 2013 World Cup and under her captaincy, South Africa reached the semifinal of the World T20 for the first time, in 2014. Later that year, Du Preez led her country in its first-ever women’s Test where the skipper flourished and blasted a century against India. 

Two years later, after leading her country to nearly 100 international games, du Preez stepped down the throne to concentrate on her main forte, batting. In 2017, she became the first woman from her nation to play 100 ODIs and three years later, she achieved the same feat in the T20Is as well, during the World T20 of 2020. 

Over the years, du Preez has been a source of inspiration for millions of budding cricketers and the most pinnacle South African cricketer. With the next World T20 scheduled to be played in South Africa, the veteran would love to win the ICC trophy with her bat in front of her own crowd. 

(As of March 2021)