Proteas women wicketkeeper Sinalo Jafta reflects on emotional year

This year will be remembered as successful for the Proteas women, but for wicketkeeper Sinalo Jafta it will go down as remarkable, considering she almost quit cricket in 2022.

The Proteas had a good year in the ODI and T20 formats, becoming the first senior South African side to make the final of an ICC Cricket World Cup. 

The historic feat was achieved on home soil during the Women’s T20 World Cup, though they went down by 19 runs to Australia in the final in Cape Town. 

According to most national team players, Jafta helped hold the side together with her leadership in the dressing room, communication with the bowlers, excellent glovework and ability to read game situations. 

The 29-year-old Butterworth-born Jafta described 2023 as an emotional year because four months before holding up her silver medal at the 2023 Women's T20 World Cup she checked herself into rehab for alcohol abuse, intending to retire from cricket. 

Jafta said online abuse affected her mental health and it led to her drinking excessively. 

She returned to the field in January for South Africa in their tri-series against the West Indies and India and to be in line for selection for the World Cup at home. 

She credits head coach Hilton Moreeng for backing her with extra training sessions and mentoring her outside cricket. 

“He [Moreeng] has been influential since the beginning and through my struggles. He stuck around, not just him, the whole management and team,” Jafta said while she was on duty against Bangladesh in the ODI match in East London. 

“No-one turned their backs on me during my struggles. I'm no longer playing for myself like before because it was always about me, now it is about how I get better for the team. 

“I'm not worried about what happens on the outside now, I'm more focused on getting the simple things right and looking at the package,” she said.  

Filling the shoes of previous 'keeper Trisha Chetty, who announced her retirement from professional cricket because of a recurring back injury early this year, was tough.  

Chetty was part of the national team leadership group when she ended her 21-year career in domestic and international cricket.  

“Since ‘Chetts' retired and me having to take over the gloves it has been tough, I won't lie. Coach told me to take it series by series and also take out the positives, work on the negatives I was struggling with and be patient. 

“I am my biggest critic, but in 2023 I learnt I have to fill in the work and everything will take care of itself,” she said.