Hollywoodbets Dolphins Ladies Head Coach Angelique Taai believes more women should be given the opportunity to take up leadership positions in sport in the country.
Hailing from King William’s Town, the former South African cricketer turned coach, is using her expertise from her playing days to positively impact the lives and careers of future cricket stars.
Recently, she was part of the U19 squad that featured at the inaugural ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup on home soil. Taai has high praise for the young ladies, saying: “It was special to see the youngster Simoné Lourens scoring her half century and Madison Landsman being the first bowler to take a hat-trick in the World Cup. I just feel that the whole team did well, and they proved to be a force to be reckoned with. The way the girls pulled together was phenomenal and just fantastic to watch.”
As a leader both on and off the field, Taai has goals on her list that she is still aiming to tick off, one being part of the Proteas Women management team one day.
Speaking with Tlamelo Kganakga, Taai chats more about her cricket journey and shares advice to women who aspire to be in the sport industry.
Angelique, thank you for chatting to us. Please tell us about yourself and where you are from.
I was born in King William’s Town, 55km from East London in the Eastern Cape. I have 3 brothers and 3 sisters of which I am the second last born.
I am currently the Head coach of the Hollywoodbets Dolphins Ladies and the u/19 Girls Dolphins team. I started in this role in June 2021. Earlier the same year, I made my commentating debut for SuperSport for the series between the Proteas Women and Pakistan.
When and where did your love for sport begin?
My brother, Morné Taai, was a cricket player and his dream was to play for the proteas one day, but I guess I fulfilled it for him. He was cricket mad, together with my cousin Reagan Fourie, they always played with their friends either in front of our garage door or in the street behind our house. I just decided to join them one day and I enjoyed it. My brother did not really like the fact that I played with them, but my cousin and his friends decided otherwise and overruled his decision.
I loved playing the game and I always joined in wherever I saw cricket is being played. The one day a teacher called Mr. Ricketts drove past when I was playing in the street and saw that I have talent. He called me to ask if I wanted to play for the Breidbach Secondary High School and I immediately said yes. He was the teacher who made sure that I did not miss practices and was driving me to and from practices. I learned from him how to care and be there for players, because what he did for me contributed tremendously to my success.
Mr. Ricketts even made me the captain of the High School team while I was at primary school. Thank you to Mr. Wilson our primary school principal who allowed me to play and released me to go and play during school hours. I received a scholarship from 4 schools in East London when I was in grade 7 but I declined them all not wanting to leave my family to stay in a boarding school. The following year I chose Hoërskool Grens in East London as Mr. Ricketts encouraged me to go.
My provincials/international playing years I played for Border since the age of 12 years old for the u/19 Girls- and Senior Women’s team. I will always be grateful to Border cricket for giving me the opportunity to showcase my talent not only as a player but a coach as well. I represented the country in 2 World Cups (2005 – One-Day World Cup in South Africa and a T20 World Cup in West Indies). I had to retire from international cricket due to a shoulder injury (workload), but I continued to play provincial cricket – retired in 2019.
You were selected as part of the management team for the U19 women’s team at the inaugural ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup. How was that experience for you?
It was an honour and privilege to be part of the first ever ICC U19 Women’s World Cup. The experience was amazing in so many ways, difficult to describe.
What did you think of the young ladies’ performance at their first World Cup?
The players have done well to bounce back from losing all our matches in the CSA WSL competition, India series and our warm-up games. They won 4 out of 5 matches at the World Cup. They did their absolute best and that is all we can ask for. The team played very well and showed their true fighting spirit and commitment to do well for themselves, as well as the country.
Which moment stood out for you from the global showpiece?
It was special to see the youngster Simoné Lourens scoring her half century and Madison Landsman being the first bowler to take a hat-trick in the world cup. I just feel that the whole team did well, and they proved to be a force to be reckoned with. The way the girls pulled together was phenomenal and just fantastic to watch.
What are your thoughts on women’s leadership especially in cricket?
Women’s leadership is definitely a need, as we need people in positions who believe that women are capable of putting extra in ordinary. In cricket, we seem to be moving in the right direction as ladies are given opportunities to further their careers and change the face of the sport in the country. We need to have ladies to change the perspective of women’s leadership in the country. We need to drive competent ladies’ leadership and quality leaders, not quantity to fix the ratio.
How will it change the women’s side of the game if we had more women leading the charge?
Ladies seem to be more thorough when looking at the needs/shortfalls of women’s sport. They understand what a female athlete has to go through to participate in sport, especially professionally as well as emotionally. The above said, the fast tracking of athletes and drive to get the necessary support, which is required, will be much greater.
What are some of the challenges you have faced in your career and how did you manage to overcome them?
The resources available to women’s cricket back then was very limited to what the ladies are getting now. When I started in the framework position as a ‘’full-time’’ coach at Border Cricket I covered my own travel cost to get to the players. I took this job to make a difference. One of the reasons was to make sure I at least see the ladies once a week in their areas and maybe twice a month as a team due to budget constraints. Women’s cricket is in a much better space then from when we started.
What would you say are your career highlights?
As a coach, being part of the WSL coaches in 2020 and in 2021, called up as an assistant coach for the SA Emerging team for 3 tours namely, Bangladesh-away, Zimbabwe-away and Thailand-home. I had to make a big decision to leave home and join the KZN Coastal family which placed me out of my comfort zone. Border is where everything started for me as a player and a coach and leaving them was not an easy decision. I am very grateful for the opportunity the Hollywoodbets KZN family has given me in terms of my growth and the amazing support I am receiving on a daily basis. I have a level III coaching qualification as well as level IV CoachED qualification.
Which women do you admire and why?
To be honest I admire my mother, Elizabeth Taai, she is always there to help others and make a difference in people’s lives’. She is a brave woman, admired by many and who showed me how to care, love and be there for others in need.
What is it that people don’t know about you?
My father, Stephen Taai, was not a father who would come and watch my matches. He never saw me play as he was a workaholic who always worked hard to provide for us financially. I always wanted my father to come and watch me play. I was mad at him for not doing so but now that I am grown and know what life is about, I understand why he needed to do what he did. His main priority was to put food on the table for us and give us all an education.
I come from a very close family which my mother is the rock and the glue to it. My mother, Elizabeth Taai, the person who gave birth to me at home, always supported me and went the extra mile. My brother-in-law, Jonathan Alexander, always made sure he brought my mother and even my sister, Elise Alexander, who hates cricket only because of my busy schedule always missed important family functions. She has grown to accept the importance of cricket in my life and understands what it meant to me.
As South Africa is hosting various World Cup tournaments, how do you think women on and off the field will benefit from these events?
This is the perfect time to get youngsters out there to play the lovely game and get sponsors involved to help the game grow even faster. There are much more opportunities for female coaches, officials and administrators than before and this is the time to broaden and develop the base even further at grassroots level.
What’s your greatest career ambition?
I would love to go on and be part of the Proteas Women’s coaching staff in years to come and as well as a coaching manager later in my career.
What is your advice to women who aspire to have a career in sport?
The sky is the limit, never give up on your dreams and stay true to yourself. Do not change to fit in but rather lead your own space and encourage others to do better and be better.
Photo 1 Caption: Hollywoodbets Dolphins Ladies Head Coach Angelique Taai previously pictured in a team photoshoot. Photo: Supplied
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