Sheelagh Mary Nefdt () is a South African former

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er who played as an

all-rounder An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a handful of batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are consi ...

. She appeared in four

Test matches Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (association football) ...

for

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

in 1960 and 1961, all against England, and captained the side throughout the series. She played domestic cricket for

Western Province Western Province or West Province may refer to: *Western Province, Cameroon *Western Province, Rwanda *Western Province (Kenya) *Western Province (Papua New Guinea) *Western Province (Solomon Islands) *Western Province, Sri Lanka *Western Provinc ...

, and in 1953–54, she made the first recorded

hattrick A hat-trick (commonly known as a hat trick), in various sports, means achieving three goals, three wickets in three deliveries, etc. in a single match. Hat trick, hat-trick or hattrick may refer to: * "Hat Trick" (''Once Upon a Time''), an episod ...

in South African women's cricket at Cape Town, taking a double hattrick. Western Province went on to win the

Simon Trophy The Simon Trophy was a South African women's cricket club cup trophy A trophy is a tangible, durable reminder of a specific achievement, and serves as a recognition or evidence of merit. Trophies are often awarded for sporting events, from youth ...

that season, as they had in the two previous to it.

Test career

She was named captain of the South African squad to play the touring English women in 1960–61. Sheelagh Nefdt batted at number five in the first Test, scoring 24 runs in the first-innings before being stumped. For the second-innings, she dropped herself one place down the batting order, to allow

Eileen Hurly Eileen Mary Ann Hurly (born 6 May 1932) is a South African former cricketer who played as a batter. She appeared in four Test matches for South Africa between in 1960 and 1961, all against England, scoring 240 runs including a top-score of 96 * ...

, scorer of 96* in the first-innings to come ahead of her. Hurly, however, was run out for just 38, while Nefdt made 62 before declaring the innings with South African leading by 284 runs. Nefdt bowled 16 overs between the two innings, claiming the wicket of

Anne Sanders Elizabeth Anne Sanders (born 20 July 1931) is an English former cricketer who played primarily as a right-arm off break bowler. She appeared in 11 Test matches for England between 1954 and 1969. She played domestic cricket for Middlesex ...

in the first, and Rachael Heyhoe in the second. In the second Test, after England won the toss and scored 351, Nefdt and her South African team scored slowly, a first-innings of 134 taking 95 overs, with Nefdt contributing 8 to the score. Similar slow scoring in the second innings helped South Africa force the draw, still trailing by 77 runs with eight wickets down in their second innings

following on In the game of cricket, a team who batted second and scored significantly fewer runs than the team who batted first may be forced to follow-on: to take their second innings immediately after their first. The follow-on can be enforced by the team ...

when the match finished. The third Test again saw South Africa dismissed cheaply twice. A 55-run fourth-wicket partnership in the first-innings between Nefdt and Hurly, and an 83-run fifth-wicket partnership between Nefdt and

Barbara Cairncross Barbara Cairncross is a South African former cricketer who played as a right-handed batter. She appeared in three Test matches for South Africa in 1960 and 1961, all against England, scoring 65 runs in her six innings. She played domestic cricke ...

in the second were the only highlights in a match that South Africa lost by eight wickets. Nefdt scored her second half-century in Test cricket during the second-innings, top-scoring among the South Africans with 68. Sheelagh Nefdt fell for a

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...

in the first-innings of the final Test in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

, a pitch that saw high-scoring innings from

Ruth Westbrook Ruth Emily Prideaux (; 12 July 1930 – 7 April 2016) was an English former cricketer who played as a wicket-keeper. She appeared in 11 Test matches for England between 1957 and 1963. She was also England's first full-time head coach, and was in ...

and

Helen Sharpe Helen Margaret Sharpe (23 February 1927 – 7 December 1996) was an English cricketer who played as a batter and occasional wicket-keeper. She appeared in five Test matches for England between 1957 and 1961, and captained them on their tour of ...

for England, while

Yvonne van Mentz Yvonne van Mentz is a South African former cricketer who played as an all-rounder. She appeared in four Test matches for South Africa in 1960 and 1961, all against England. She scored South African's first century in Women's Test cricket, with ...

scored South Africa's first century in Test cricket. By promoting herself to open in the second-innings, Nefdt added 11 to the score before being caught and bowled by Anne Sanders for the second time in the match.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nefdt, Sheelagh Date of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Living people South African women cricketers South Africa women Test cricketers South Africa women's national cricket team captains Western Province women cricketers