Even though CSA’s policy is to only grant NOCs to players who meet the minimum fitness requirements, a source told ESPNcricinfo that it is unlikely that the board will stand in van Niekerk’s way. Instead, the board would use the WPL to facilitate her return to the national side. An insider said that it would be “churlish” for CSA to stand in the way of her playing in the WPL. A final decision on the NOC will be taken after a meeting with CSA’s director of cricket Enoch Nkwe and the CSA medical team.

The source described the difference in Lee and van Niekerk’s case as being that Lee “fabricated test results, and when that came up for discussion, she walked away.” On BBC’s Stumped Podcast, Lee admitted she self recorded her weight instead of letting the CSA biokineticist take her measurements.

She is currently 18 seconds off South Africa’s requirement of 9 minutes, 30 seconds for the two-kilometre run, and will not need to take the test again before the WPL. She will need to pass the test to play for the national team, though, who do not have any confirmed fixtures after the T20 World Cup. According to the FTP, South Africa are scheduled to tour Pakistan in August.