Dane van Niekerk, the South African captain, has signed with Adelaide Strikers for the upcoming season of the Women's Big Bash League. She will join fellow South African Laura Wolvaardt as the second foreign signing in the team.The move comes after New Zealand's Suzie Bates couldn't be a part of the tournament due to border restrictions. Bates is currently in England with the national team, and her return to New Zealand's hotel quarantine is guaranteed once she returns with the team this week. However, the same won't be true if she travelled to her home country after playing the WBBL, and like several other New Zealand residents stranded in Australia, she will have to wait her turn.

"At the time I had to make the decision, I had a spot booked by New Zealand Cricket to get me back into NZ and if I gave it up to fly straight to Australia, there was high chance of being stranded in Australia post the Big Bash," Bates explained. "This was not a risk I was willing to take with what the White Ferns have coming up this summer, including a home World Cup. I love this club; I love playing for the Strikers so it was not an easy decision, but I look forward to following and supporting the team as best I can. "Bates becomes the fourth New Zealander to withdraw from the tournament after Amelia Kerr (due to mental health reasons), Amy Satterthwaite and Lea Tahuhu. Meanwhile, van Niekerk, who won the Player of the Tournament award in the recently-concluded The Hundred in UK, had parted ways with Sixers at the end of the last season and was without a contract. Speaking on van Niekerk's appointment, Adelaide Strikers coach Luke Williams said, "It is no coincidence that Dane has played in winning teams, she leads by example and always performs on the biggest stages.