As revealed by The Cricketer earlier this month, the former South Africa captain has signed up for a stint during 2023 in another landmark deal for English cricket's regional structure
Sunrisers have announced the signing of Dane van Niekerk for part of the upcoming 2023 domestic season.
Confirmation of the deal, which The Cricketer revealed last week, comes days after the 29-year-old retired from South Africa duty.
She was controversially omitted from the squad for the T20 World Cup on home turf for fitness reasons, leading to the decision.
Van Niekerk will arrive in mid-May, making her available for the entire Charlotte Edwards Cup and part of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy.
The stint runs until August when the regional game breaks for The Hundred. In the women's draft on Thursday (March 23), Van Niekerk - an unused member of the Royal Challengers Bangalore squad during the ongoing Women's Premier League - was signed by defending champions Oval Invincibles who she has represented in each of the two previous editions.
Van Niekerk called time on her South Africa career earlier this month (Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
In 232 T20s, Van Niekerk has scored 4,154 runs at 25.02 and taken 195 wickets with an economy rate of 6.07.
New head coach Andy Tennant will hope the signing can have a positive effect on results, which have been substandard; they have won just one match since the regional system came into being in 2020.
The signing is also a coup for the domestic women's game after last summer saw former West Indies international Deandra Dottin play for Thunder in the RHFT.
"I'm very excited to join up with my Sunrisers teammates," she said, upon the move being announced. "I look forward to this new chapter and contributing to the overall success of the team. So grateful for the backing and can't wait to get on the field to start playing."
Part of two Oval Invincibles' successive victories in The Hundred, Van Niekerk returns for a third season this summer (Stu Forster/Getty Images)
Tennant added: "This is an extremely exciting time for Sunrisers, and having the ability to bring in Dané speaks volumes of the work that has been going on behind the scenes at this club.
"We all know exactly what Dané is capable of, and the experience that she will bring to our group of players is invaluable.
"We made sure that the current squad were aware throughout the whole process, and Eva (Gray) and Mady (Villiers) have always spoken so highly of her after spending so much time together during the Hundred.
"She's both a brilliant player and a brilliant person, and we can't wait to welcome her into the Sunrisers family."
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