Cricketer determined to beat odds and go pro
“I know I’m going to become something. I want to come back and plough so that the club won’t have to train here.”
The lush green outfields and perfectly laid pitches of Willowmoore Park may as well be a world away from the tennis court and dusty patch of land at the community park next to Jerry Moloi Library that the Etwatwa Cricket Club (ECC) calls home.
But they are not. It’s just a 15 minute taxi ride between the two but the setting quickly changes from neat and green to dusty, poor and over-populated.
These two worlds have been brought together by the ECC’s female cricketer, Thelma Makhubela (17), whose journey began in 2020 on a dry and dusty ground in Barcelona section, and who has blossomed at Eastern Storm, where every resource so desperately needed by her club is plenty.
Makhubela could have chosen to wallow in self-pity because of the challenges faced by the ECC but her mission is simple – to work hard and make it to professional level and then return to change the situation for her club and community.
“I know I’m going to become something. I want to come back and plough so that the club won’t have to train here,” she said.
She and her teammates have turned a tennis court inside a community park into a training net where they spend hours honing their skills with both bat and ball.
A big hitter and seam bowler with terrific speed, length and accuracy, it’s remarkable how the teen has quickly mastered the basics even without net sessions or training on a proper pitch.
This lack of facilities and resources has made the all-rounder all the more determined to succeed. But her wish is for her teammates to ignore their challenges and rather focusing on the bigger picture.
“The girls’ team should look at me as their motivation because I’ve made it to the Eastern Storm’s senior team. I was able achieved this without proper facilities and resources.
“We don’t have nets or a pitch. We bowl on a tennis court. This should be our motivation to succeed. I want to see the team improve.”
Away from the privileges offered by Eastern Storm, Makhubela’s world in Etwatwa is characterised by alcoholism, gangsterism and drug abuse by the youth.
Although she and her teammates have found refuge in cricket, she admits their lack of resources, facilities and community support, especially from local businesses, remains their Achilles heel.
“There are lots of people who can help in Etwatwa. It all starts with small of donations of R1. It’s the small contributions that can make a huge difference. With the community’s help, bit by bit we’ll have our own nets and overtime, a pitch.”
Short in stature but so adept she has literally carried the ECC women’s team in the Easterns regional league, Makhubela gives meaning to the saying “dynamite comes in small packages”.
“The coach always emphasises the importance of getting the basics right. You can’t do anything if you haven’t grasped the basics of the sport. When I have time, I hold sessions with the young girls to help them with the basics. I’d like to see them follow in my footsteps.”
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