Ex-Proteas women's cricketer and daughter die in crash

Johannesburg - Former South Africa Women's World Cup cricketer Elriesa Theunissen-Fourie and her child were killed in a car crash this weekend, police confirmed on Sunday.

The fatal accident occurred in the northwestern mining town of Stilfontein, a police spokesperson told AFP.

All-rounder Theunissen-Fourie, 25, represented South Africa in four internationals - three ODIs and one Twenty20 - and was part of the 2013 ICC Women's Cricket World Cup squad.

"This is a dreadful tragedy in the true sense of that word," said Cricket South Africa (CSA) chief executive Thabang Moroe. "This is devastating news for all of us.

"Elriesa did so much for the community in which she lived and gave excellent service both as a national player and in the work she did at grassroots level.

"On behalf of the CSA family, I extend our deepest sympathy to her husband, her family, friends and all her cricketing colleagues."

Theunissen-Fourie's last match for South Africa came in an ODI against Bangladesh Women in September 2013. She made her ODI debut during the 2013 World Cup - against Sri Lanka Women in Cuttack.

In domestic cricket, Theunissen-Fourie played for the North West Dragons. She was known to be very active at the grassroots level and coached at the local community hub until she opted for a maternity leave ahead of the birth of her first child.

#CSAnews CSA shocked by tragic passing of Elriesa Theunissen-Fourie https://t.co/TiMQMFroCf #RIPElriesa pic.twitter.com/n0yRIs5uJR

— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) April 6, 2019