South Africa captain Dane van Niekerk is set to return to action in The Hundred for defending champions Oval Invincibles, having been out of action since November after breaking her ankle while feeding her dogs.
Van Niekerk is one of the sport's leading all-rounders and suffered the "freak" injury on the eve of the Women's Cricket World Cup, having been the leading wicket taker at the previous tournament in 2017.
It was a cruel blow and also forced Van Niekerk to miss a second major tournament as she failed to recover in time for the Commonwealth Games. "I do a lot of stupid things but probably that wasn't one of the best decisions I could make so close to a World Cup," Van Niekerk told the Guardian.
"Marizanne [Kapp, her wife and teammate] always tells me I'm a loose head. It was an honest, freak accident. It was raining and I was on the wooden deck outside the house. I needed to go down to feed my dogs and I tried to climb down from the edge, and as I did that my feet gave way.
"I heard a snap, and I knew straight away that was my World Cup. I still hate myself to this day. If I'd just made one split-second decision different. I could have been there and maybe helped my team, made a bit of a difference. That is life and that's how I learn."
Van Niekerk is expected to be available for the Invincibles first match against Northern Superchargers and she is looking forward to getting back on the field for the first time in almost nine months. Skill-wise I'm happy, I'm content with where I am," she added. "It's been a process but I'm getting there."
Her broken ankle was not the first time Van Niekerk has suffered a bizarre injury, having previously needed five stitches in her hand after accidentally cutting herself while preparing food with her wife during a stint in the Women's Big Bash League for Sydney Sixers.
"For some very dumb reason I tried to stab an avocado," Van Niekerk said of the incident. "It was a really small cut but I felt it hit the bone and that's when I got a bit nervous. It was gross and I don't do so well with blood. I freaked out a little bit. I will never live that down.
"It definitely was a bit of a laugh for the team, Pez [Sixers teammate Ellyse Perry] gave me an avocado shirt saying 'I'm the right kind of fat', avocado trousers and some peeling equipment."
