Former SA captain Van Niekerk signs for Sunrisers

Dane van Niekerk has been retained by defending champions Oval Invincibles in The Hundred

Former South Africa captain Dane van Niekerk has signed for English region Sunrisers.

The all-rounder was controversially dropped from South Africa's T20 World Cup squad in February for failing to meet the required fitness standards.

Van Niekerk will play in the Charlotte Edwards Cup, the domestic T20 competition, which starts in May.

She will stay with Sunrisers up until the start of The Hundred, where she plays for two-time champions Oval Invincibles.

The signing will provide a significant boost for Sunrisers, who have won just one game across both the Charlotte Edwards Cup and the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy in three seasons.

Van Niekerk played 194 times for South Africa, scoring more than 4,000 runs and taking 204 wickets.

Van Niekerk joins former West Indies all-rounder Deandra Dottin, who plays for Thunder, as an overseas player in the regional structure.

Sunrisers take on Central Sparks in their first game of the tournament on 18 May.