All-rounder Thelma Makhubela’s impressive knock of 100 off 63 balls against Kwa-Thema Hub helped the Actonville and Wattville Hub to win the Easterns Hubs girls’ T20 tournament on July 7 at Lords Cricket Ground.
Makhubela, from Etwatwa, came to the crease after opener Pontsho Morake was run out for a duck with the first ball of the day.
The right-hander attacked with the first ball she faced and throughout the innings, she played beautiful shots, especially on the leg side to score 15 fours in her innings.
“I switched on from the first ball. I knew what I wanted plus it’s a T20 match, so we had to attack. That’s how I approached the game,” she said.
The 17-year-old said the presence of scouts and the fact that she wants to play regularly for the Eastern Storm women’s first team motivated her to push hard with both bat and ball.
“I’m a big hitter. I did what I’m known for. I also had to avoid making silly mistakes by playing long shots. The tournament gave me exposure. The scouts were here. They, along with my coaches, will see my stats. We’ll see what happens after this,” Makhubela said.
Actonville coach Senzo Shongwe said Makhubele’s leadership played an important role in the success of the team in the tournament.
“She was on top of her game, scoring 81 runs (26 and 55 not out) in the first two games. Today, she played a beautiful captain’s knock and ensured she boosted her teammates’ confidence. She’s a good leader.”
Opener Amogelang Molatlhwa (23 off 42) played a pivotal role in her 121 stand with Makhubela, ensuring the big-hitting all-rounder stayed on strike to keep the run rate ticking.
Makhubela’s knock helped her team set the visitors a target of 163 to win. This proved too much for the Springs team, despite Mpumelelo Mashiloane’s 62 off 43 not out.
Mashiloane, who knocked two half-centuries in the tournament, watched as wickets fell like dominoes around her, with no other batter in her team reaching double digits. They were dismissed for 93, losing by 70 runs.
Actonville won three matches and drew one to claim tournament honours. Shongwe was impressed with how his team performed with both bat and ball but said they needed to work on their fielding.
They restricted Duduza to 45 all out in the first match and set Kwa-Thema 92 runs to win in the second match, which was drawn due to bad lighting.
In their third match, they scored 162 and they restricted Duduza to 34 all out in their last game.
“It was a balanced team performance with the bat and ball. We need to work extra hard on our fielding as we conceded lots of unnecessary runs inside the inner ring. We had a couple of misfields from a few of our fielders,” Shongwe said.
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