Women’s cricket in the Khayelitsha region of South Africa has been born and brought up by young lady, Babalwa Zothe. The 25-year old used to play with the boy’s cricket team in her school and went on to establish the first all-girls team years later. A top-order batter, who used to play for the Western Province senior team, had to retire early due to back injury. Now, her sole focus is on coaching and growing women’s cricket.
Zothe mentors around 100 girls as part of her work with Cricket South Africa (CSA) Khayelitsha hub and has another 70 girls across all age groups as part of her volunteer work at Gary Kirsten Foundation. Although she receives quite a small allowance from CSA but money was nowhere near her priorities when it comes to cricket. “I’ve got passion and I love cricket, so I don’t mind if I get paid or not, as long as cricket is going forward and girls are improving their skills,” she said.
She loved to see Herschelle Gibbs and Jacques Kallis playing. “They would hit the ball like nobody’s business,” she recalled.
‘Gully’ cricket player and close observer of Indian Cricket team and it’s matches. Straight forward and still socially admirable personality. Strong belief in teamwork and possess high leadership skills.