Ginger De Klerk loves being Proteas’ BMT specialist

Many might look at the current Proteas Women T20 World Cup squad and frown purely because the side no longer has the experience of players such as Shabnim Ismail, Lizelle Lee or Mignon du Preez, all players who solidified themselves as greats of the Women’s game.

However, with a closer look at the current crop, one would notice the depth and the all-round competitiveness of the side.

Apart from the big names such as Wolvaardt, Marizanne Kapp or Chloe Tryon, the side is brimming with youngsters who have the potential to dominate the Women’s game for many years to come.

Who can look past the 23-year-old Annerie Dercksen who has both power with bat in hand and serious pace with the ball? What about the mystery spinner, the 18-year-old Seshnie Naidu, who recently joined the side?

However, there is one diamond in this team that usually goes unnoticed despite the brightness of her performances with both bat and ball and that is all-rounder Nadine de Klerk.

Probably the smallest in the team in stature, De Klerk makes up for it in determination and her ultra-competitive nature. She is one of those stubborn cricketers who refuse to go out without a fight.

“I think it’s just my personality. I don’t know, maybe being a Ginger helps, you know, being really feisty and competitive,” De Klerk told Independent Newspapers.

“And I just kind of grew up in a very competitive family, where I’ve always kind of been a part of sports and stuff like that. But I do love playing under pressure. You always want to be that person for the team.

“When we need those big wickets and it’s the World Cup semi-final you want to be the person to pick up that wicket. When we need six runs off the last ball you want to be the person to smash the boundary or get the team over the line. I really strive for that.

“I really love it and this tournament is probably going to test a lot of our character as a team because it’s going to be tough, it’s going to be pressure games every single game. There are no easy teams anymore,” she added.

De Klerk further told Independent Newspapers that the Proteas Women’s team is desperate to bring the trophy home and that they want to take it one game at a time instead of looking too far ahead.

“We all obviously desperately want to win the trophy. It’s never happened before but I also think we’re just trying to take it one game at a time and we’re not trying to think ahead too far,” she said.

“The confidence is high, we’re in a very good space as a team and we’re feeling really good about this World Cup, so I think we’re just going to take it one game at a time and kind of reassess after every single game and see how we can get better,” she concluded.

South Africa take on New Zealand Women tomorrow in a warm-up match before the 2024 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup begins next week in the UAE.