Proteas’ lethal ‘Lefty’ has World Cup cricket title in her sights

“Yoh, issa lot,” smiled Nonkululeko Mlaba, as she cast her mind ahead to the next seven weeks, at the end of which she hopes her and South Africa’s cricket dreams will be fulfilled. 

The Proteas, led by Laura Wolvaardt, travelled to Pakistan on Thursday before a three-match ODI series in Pakistan, where they will polish style and strategy ahead of the 13th edition of the ICC Women’s World Cup. 

Mlaba will be under the spotlight like never before but the recently named CSA player of the year isn’t bothered — yet — by the expectations. “I’m not thinking about it, it is such a long tournament, you face all the other teams, the travel ...” she trailed off. 

It is a brutal schedule — with the seven round-robin games stuffed into three weeks and teams zigzagging between India and the Sri Lankan capital Colombo. And then, as is now the norm for tournaments hosted in India, the fate of Pakistan means the venues for the semifinal and final won’t be known until the last week because Pakistan refuses to play matches in India, just like the Indian men’s team did in this year’s Champions Trophy. 

The Proteas start in Lahore where they play three day/night games against Pakistan at the Gaddafi Stadium. Training and playing under lights will be crucial for Mlaba and the rest of the spinners, especially as they learn how best to manage a wet ball — because of the expected evening dew.

“ I’m not worried about the expectations, I know what I can do, but what I want is to make sure that I’m doing those things well.” 

She hasn’t made the impact yet in the ODI format — where she’s ranked 19th — that she has in the T20 format where she’s ranked ninth by the ICC.

But her improvement in the past two years is evident, especially when bowling in India and Sri Lanka, where the World Cup is being held. Mlaba has taken 10 wickets in her last six matches in those countries, averaging 31.4, with an economy rate of 5.81 an over. 

The bubbly left-arm spinner, who goes by the moniker “Lefty” (and sometimes Nonku) is gradually coming to terms with her elevated status. “I was in the squad in New Zealand (in 2022) but I didn’t play, so I’m really looking forward to playing a World Cup game.”

“My family has been so supportive, even though I know that when I don’t do well, I’ll be getting messages from home about it. Yoh, my sister is always, ‘you should’ve done that better, you should’ve bowled this’, but I know it is because they want me to do my best,” Mlaba smiled. 

The Proteas ended the past two ODI World Cups in the semifinals — but the latest two T20 World Cups saw them finish as runners-up, something, Mlaba said, from which the players learnt painful lessons.

“It’s tough, but we know we can win in semifinals, and then you have to deal with the pressure in the final. But it’s a long, long way before that stage,” she chirped. 

After the Pakistan series, South Africa head to Colombo for two warm-up games, against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Then the real hectic travel starts; an eight-hour flight from Colombo to Guwahati to play England on October 3, then nearly five hours from Guwahati to Indore to play New Zealand on October 6, followed by some respite when they get to spend a week in the seaside city, Visakhapatnam, where they play India and Bangladesh.