Proteas debutant Kayla Reyneke celebrates hitting the winning runs against Pakistan in Potchefstroom on Tuesday night.
Image: Cricket SA
“Coach, why do we have a girl in our team?”
This was the inquiry from one of the players in the U15 boys' cricket team I was coaching. In truth, I was expecting it because we had already had a withdrawal from one of our junior youth provincial boys ahead of the tournament because “I don’t play with girls.”
While we can take a deep dive into the toxic masculinity, discrimination, and prejudice of it all, these were, after all, 15-year-old boys who were probably more intimidated by the fact that a teenage girl would see them without face wash and their red, pimply acne exposed.
But I digress, for my simple response to the young man was: “Have you seen her bat?”
The first ball, the young woman was beaten outside the off stump. It was met by a collective “I told you so” stare from the entire team in my direction. The next delivery delivered the moment of truth. The ball was flighted, and the batter advanced down the track to meet it on the half-volley, calmly dispatching it over the sight-screen for a massive six.
The boys were stunned. Some in silence; others up on their feet and applauding with gusto. They all now wanted to know her name. Everyone, meet Kayla Reyneke.
I’m sure many of those same boys, now young men five years later, were watching their televisions on Tuesday evening cheering on every run and jumping up and down enthusiastically. Reyneke, the Proteas Women’s team’s new starlet, struck a last-ball six on her international debut to take the national team over the line in the first T20I against Pakistan in Potchefstroom.
They may even have been telling their mates, “I played with Kayla!”
It was abundantly evident, even at such a young age, that Reyneke was destined for bigger things. It was not only her ability — for she had just made her senior provincial debut for Western Province the previous weekend — but more importantly, the character and temperament she showed. At no stage was Reyneke ruffled by the boys’ ignorant comments. It was purely motivation to show them up.
Reared by her single mother, the former SA Under-19 captain has an innate competitive spirit that puts her ahead of her competitors. She doesn’t stand back for anyone, which once saw her get involved in an on-field skirmish with her now senior national teammate Tazmin Brits at the Wanderers in a domestic clash a couple of years ago.
Brits, a feisty character in her own right, would in hindsight have appreciated that South Africa had unearthed a youngster with the bottle not to be intimidated whilst backing it up with performance.
All these attributes were on display in Potchefstroom. A debut that had started in tears, with Reyneke visibly emotional during the national anthem, ended in jubilation. Her bowling was accurate and intelligent, with her wicket off her third delivery in international cricket — bowling Gull Feroza — helping to settle the nerves.
She finished with record-breaking debut figures of 2/13, but there’s no doubt the heart rate monitor was exploding when she walked to the crease with the Proteas requiring 34 runs off 24 balls. A nervy start followed, which required an on-field LBW decision to be overturned by the television umpire, before she outshone her more senior partner Annerie Dercksen with three sixes to take the Proteas over the line.
Needing two runs off the final ball, Reyneke smashed a delivery from Humna Bilal over long-off to finish unbeaten on 29 off 16 balls.
I’ve been critical in this very column about the Proteas Women’s failure to blood young players in a bid to naturally transition from an ageing group to a more balanced squad. Hopefully, Reyneke’s performance gives them the confidence to have faith in a couple more.