Chetty’s return to SA squad hampered by injury

Trisha Chetty's return to the South Africa squad has been hampered by a disc protrusion on her lower back and she has been ruled out of the ODI and T20I series in West Indies, Cricket South Africa confirmed on Sunday.

They suffered another blow as Shabnim Ismail also pulled out of the tour because of an illness to her father. Faye Tunnicliffe has been named replacement for Chetty while the selectors have decided not to pick an alternative for Ismail.

Tumi Sekhukhune (Easterns), Saarah Smith (Western Province) and Robin Searle (Gauteng) have also earned maiden-call ups to the squad. The trio were selected after impressing in the 26-member North-v-South T20 competition in Pretoria.

South Africa Women will play three One-Day Internationals and five T20Is in Barbados and Trinidad starting on September 16. The three-match ODI series will be part of the International Women's Championship - the tournament that determines direct qualification for the 2021 50-over World Cup in New Zealand. South Africa currently stand seventh in the standings, having recently lost 2-1 in the ODIs versus England.

The tour is particularly crucial for the Dane van Niekerk-led side given they will be playing in Windies merely a couple of months before the showpiece World T20 2018 and will want to use the games to acclimatise to the conditions and build their combination.