She aims to put her own spin on cricket
A local aspiring cricket commentator, Xolile Mabuza (23), has the mentorship of renowned South African commentator, Natalie Germanos, honing and polishing her commentary skills on the sport.
Mabuza’s dream is to become the first female cricket commentator in the siSwati language. “It is my responsibility to work towards bringing all my dreams to life and being a female cricket commentator is a dream and a half. I have been working towards this by writing and reviewing cricket matches on social media platforms.
“I once wrote to Natalie Germanos, who is currently one of two female commentators we have in the country, and to my surprise, she responded to my email and has been helping and guiding me on what to do and what not to do,” she smiled.
Mabuza, a Mandlesive High School matriculant, joined the cricket academy at Hoërskool Nelspruit in November where she is learning more about the game.
“I am learning more about cricket and learning to sympathise with cricketers since I have never played cricket before. All the things I am doing are an investment that I owe to my dreams, and I know that one day I will be the first black female cricket commentator to commentate in both English and siSwati,” she said.
The cricket bug bit Mabuza when a schoolfriend of hers told her after class that cricket was a gentleman’s sport and the best one ever.
“I didn’t understand why he was saying that, but I was sure it was all a lie, because soccer was the best sport, so I thought.
“I then started watching cricket to argue against it being the best,” she recalled.
Mabuza used to think that people watching cricket were crazy, because it goes on for hours and takes forever to finish. “The first day I watched a test match between South Africa and England, in which I think Hashim Amla scored 40 runs from 90 balls and Kagiso Rabada took 5/78, I didn’t know anything about the sport and I depended on my friend and Google for explanations. I was still taken aback by the patience the men displayed when batting and bowling. By the way wickets fell even when stumps were protected and the art of swinging the ball to pass a batsman and reach the stumps.”
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She explained that she loved the way the balls went flying when Kagiso bowled to Stuart Broad.
“It was so magical. From that day I sat down and learned more about cricket by watching more matches, and today I agree with my friend that cricket is the best sport, and I think the holiest,” she said.
Mabuza sees herself as a cricket analyst and writer, a clothing designer and poet.
“When I am not wring poetry, I am definitely writing and sharing my views about the sport I love the most.
“To be honest, at first I was inspired by the cricketers more than I was by the commentators. They played the sport beautifully and gave the commentators so much to work with. I am still inspired by them and now that I want to be a commentator myself, I looked up to Natalie Germanos and Kass Naidoo, who are women holding the South African cricket world together with their voices,” she said.
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Mluleki Ntsabo melts her heart when he commentates in his mother tongue, isiXhosa. “I always shout, ‘Wait till I get there with my siSwati! We are going to set the cricket world on fire!’.
“The world is changing. It is learning to see women, especially black women like me, and I hope the cricket world sees me because I saw it first and saw myself in it.
“I will use what I have now to pave my way to that commentary box and microphone. I have a voice, I have words and the stomach to keep all the appetite of becoming a commentator,” she concluded.
