Cricket is not just a boys’ game
Carmen is proving that she too can play with the boys
Witpoortjie’s Carmen Nel is a rising cricket star. Her love, passion and dedication to the sport have led to her being selected to be part of the Gauteng girls’ U/13 cricket team.
Carmen’s journey started just three years ago when she saw a group of boys playing cricket. Although she knew nothing about the sport, she still wanted to play.
“I wasn’t holding the bat correctly and the boys laughed at me. But that only made me more determined to prove them wrong and show them I can do it too. That’s where it all started for me,” she said.
Carmen then started practising with the boys at her school, Laerskool Dr Havinga, until one of the coaches saw her potential and assisted her to realise her talent. Since then, Carmen has been voted Sports Girl of 2015 and has been selected to play in her school’s U/11A teams in netball and hockey and the U/13A cricket team. She also went to the Gauteng Athletics Championships in Germiston, proving that she is not only talented in cricket, but in other sports codes as well.
However, 2016 has been Carmen’s breakthrough year, even after she sustained a torn ligament in her right ankle that saw her out of action for six weeks. She was awarded the Victor Ludorum at the Inter-School Athletics and once again made it into the girls’ U/12A netball and hockey teams and U/13 cricket team.
One of Carmen’s cricket idols is West Indian batsman Chris Gayle, who is known to hammer the ball out of the pavilion. As an all-rounder, she dreams of emulating her idol and playing for the national team.
“I look up to him because he never looks under pressure or nervous. He is cool and confident in any situation on the field. I want to be a confident player, but to get to his level I need to be confident in my ability, work harder and do more, not less – and never give up,” she said.
Carmen will join the Gauteng team as they take on their KwaZulu-Natal counterparts in December.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kf4UT0N8Nzw&feature=youtu.be
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