North West Dragons bowler, Nthabiseng Nini is looking forward to representing South Africa, as the country hosts the inaugural edition of the ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup from 14-29 January 2023.
Nini is part of an exciting rising star squad, who will be under the guidance of former Momentum Proteas cricketer, Dinesha Devnarain during the global showpiece.
Hailing from Potchefstroom, the former Ikageng Hub player was introduced to the sport by a friend and since then, the bug bit and she has not looked back.
One of her strategies to ensure that she achieves her dream of becoming a professional athlete is to work diligently on her KPIs and performance benchmarks, which she says has improved her game in recent months.
In this interview with Tlamelo Kganakga, Nini chats more about her journey to date and reveals why she admires Momentum Proteas’ Masabata Klaas.
Nthabiseng, thank you for chatting to us. Please tell us about yourself and where you are from.
Hi gsport, thanks for having this chat with me really means a lot. I’m Nthabiseng Nini and I’m from North West, currently living in Potchefstroom.
When and where did your love for sport begin?
To be honest, I didn’t know there was women’s cricket. In 2017 a friend of mine told me about it and said that I should come and try. That’s when I loved the sport and I played for Ikageng Hub. I was at the NW U/16 trials and went there to give my all then after a few days, I was told that I had been chosen to play for the Dragons – that was in 2019.
What are some of the challenges you have faced and how did you overcome them?
When I felt like my performance was lacking a bit and I got to face some challenges, so I went back and worked harder.
What has been some of your career highlights?
When I took a fiver for 5 runs against Zimbabwe U/19 Women’s.
The ICC U19 Women’s T20 Women’s World Cup is taking place from 14-29 January. How excited are you about it and what are you looking forward to?
I’m very excited, looking forward to play to the best of my ability and most importantly representing my country and also playing for the badge.
You are in Group D alongside India, Scotland and United Arab Emirates. What do you think of the teams South Africa has been paired with?
I think any international team we will play against will be quality, we are not sure what to expect because we have never seen them play before. We do analysis on each team but our focus is to work on our own KPIs and performance benchmarks and play the brand of cricket we have been playing all this time.
Who are some of the women athletes you admire and why?
Masabata Klaas because she’s one of the seniors who loves giving us youngsters advice to perform to the best of our ability.
You have been performing well during the preparation matches. What have you taken away from all the games you’ve played so far?
All I can say is that going through KPIs really helped because it assisted me on how to become better for the next match.
What is it that you do for fun?
I love being around my family and also going on road trips with them.
What is it that people don’t know about you?
That I was a netball and football player.
What’s your greatest career ambition?
To become a Professional Athlete.
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