Trisha Chetty debuted for SA against New Zealand in 2007 in the shortest format and has played 82 WT20Is. She has featured in four World Cups for the Proteas but was ruled out of the first women’s World Cup on African soil owing to a recurring back injury.
Chetty will nevertheless be keeping a close eye on her teammates as they chase silverware. She talks about the Proteas’ bounce-back-ability, overcoming a “big hurdle” in Australia next up and how Chloe Tryon keeps her teammates entertained off-field too.
Wednesday, 15 February – Fightbacks and breakout stars
The loss against Sri Lanka in our opening game at Newlands Cricket Stadium was disappointing. Post-match, I spoke to some of the Proteas girls and they were quite heartbroken about it. I think the first game was overwhelming for some of them, with their families coming over and an expectant audience adding to the occasion. In the opener against the islanders maybe we didn’t know what to expect but failed to rock up.
A STAR IS BORN IN NONKULULEKO MLABA
In contrast, the fightback against New Zealand in Paarl was brilliant. You could see in their faces and the way they went about their business that the girls were determined to bounce back. The bowling and fielding was amazing, while Nonkululeko Mlaba starred with the ball. The 22-year-old registered a T20 World Cup career best of 3/10 in four overs. She has just been growing over time and it’s been amazing to watch her. Against New Zealand, from her first over to how she ended off, her energy levels were amazing.
She celebrated one of her wickets with a dance with Sinalo Jafta. I can’t confirm if the pair are the best dancers in the Proteas side but it was great to see how they complimented each other and entertained the audience. I can’t say if Wolvie (Laura Wolvaardt) and Kappie (Marizanne Kapp) are the worst as they don’t dance too much!
TRYON: AN ALL-ROUNDER AND TIKTOK ACE
Chloe Tryon, who was player of the match, came in at the backend and finished it off. She has a high level of intensity and you could see the passion in her eyes. Off-field, Chloe is a big character. She’s loud and always fun to be around. Myself, Chloe and Shabnim Ismail were the trio that always used to hang around together. Chloe loves TikTok and was always coming up with a dance for us to do. Mlaba is also a big TikTok person and everyday there is a new dance or some entertainment on her social media.
Off-field, the Women’s IPL auction dominated headlines this week. I’m not going to lie, I was quite surprised that Mlaba didn’t get picked up. That said, there are some big names that also didn’t earn those lucrative contracts to play in India from March. All we can do is congratulate the players who were snapped up and wish them well for the tournament. By them playing all over the world and featuring in those competitions, they are growing women’s cricket and inspiring young girls. Personally, it would have been great to play in the Women’s IPL but unfortunately I’m now at the backend of my career.
JONTY WAS MY HERO AND IGNITED MY FIRE
In two starts, our batting hasn’t hit the desired heights but against New Zealand, even though we were losing wickets, our run-rate was still good. Fortunately for us so far in this tournament, when the top order hasn’t performed, the middle and lower order has stabilised the innings. Hopefully all three disciplines come together against Australia, and South Africa can put up a score of around 150 to give our bowlers something to defend. As a batter, I started off opening and later in my career, I moved to No.7 or 8. I have always been a run-a-ball type batter. I have never been a big boundary-hitter but – with a strike rate of 88.09 – more of a timer. Coming up in the game, I looked up to Jonty Rhodes and also wore No.8 on my back for South Africa. As a batter, he was always active at the crease and his fielding was phenomenal. As I grew up, I also admired the likes of Kumar Sangakkarra and Quinton de Kock as wicket-keeper/batters.
THE WOMEN’S GAME IS FAST CATCHING UP
Women’s cricket is definitely catching up to the men’s game, especially with the performances that the women are putting up at the moment at the ongoing T20 World Cup. The women’s game is heading in the right direction not just in this country but globally. Hopefully in the very near future, we receive the same recognition as the men.
Turning to our next match against Australia on Saturday, a win is crucial against the five-time T20 World Cup-winners. Us losing to Sri Lanka put us on the back foot in Group A before we came back really nicely. But positive results in our next two matches against the Aussies and Bangladesh are really important in terms of us cementing a semi-final spot. We don’t want our qualification to come down to net run-rate. I maintain that there is no difference between us and Australia in terms of skill. It’s just about who wants it more on the day. I think we are in a good headspace to get over the line against Australia. It’s a big hurdle and would be a great achievement to beat them on home turf.
LARGE TOTAL NEEDED AGAINST AUSSIES
Because Australia have a long batting line-up and firepower throughout, we need to put on a big score. We have a strong bowling attack so if we can post a competitive total, I know we can defend anything that we put up. Against the defending champions, it’s going to be important that our batting, bowling and fielding all comes together on the day. Sune Luus has said, “We are used to the conditions and hopefully we can use that to our advantage.” As locals, I’m sure the Proteas will assess the conditions and the ground as quickly as possible in Port Elizabeth and decide on their match-day strategy.
South Africa face defending champions Australia at St George’s Park from 7pm on Saturday in their third group tie. Catch all 23 matches live on Your World of Champions.