{"id":64590,"date":"2024-04-17T17:10:12","date_gmt":"2024-04-17T17:10:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/ayabonga-khaka-will-become-first-black-woman-to-reach-100-proteas-caps"},"modified":"2024-04-17T17:48:04","modified_gmt":"2024-04-17T17:48:04","slug":"ayabonga-khaka-will-become-first-black-woman-to-reach-100-proteas-caps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/ayabonga-khaka-will-become-first-black-woman-to-reach-100-proteas-caps","title":{"rendered":"Ayabonga Khaka will become first black woman to reach 100 Proteas caps"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. <\/strong><\/span>Not many South African cricket players get to play 100 internationals, but fast bowler Ayabonga Khaka will add her name to that list when she takes to the field against Sri Lanka at the JB Marks Oval in Potchefstroom on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Aspiring young cricketers in Eastern Cape villages and townships want to be like the international from Xesi, 90km north of East London, not because of her skin colour but because of where she came from and what she has achieved in her career.Khaka has taken 125 ODI wickets at an average of 25.53 and an economy rate of 4.12. She played in the Women\u2019s ODI World Cup in 2017 and 2022.<\/p>\n

Though she is always smiling on the pitch, Khaka\u2019s journey to the top has not been as smooth as she makes it look.<\/p>\n

She started playing the game in grade 1 at Ingwenya Primary School. That year, aged seven, she became the only girl in the boy\u2019s mini-cricket team.<\/p>\n

From the beginning, Khaka preferred bowling to batting as she was less likely to be hit by the ball and it was challenging, specially against boys.She took particular pleasure in getting boys out. She also liked cricket as it involved a lot of discipline.<\/p>\n

She continued playing mini-cricket until high school as it was her only option, but then stopped for a year because Ntabenkonyana Senior Secondary School didn\u2019t offer it as a sport.<\/p>\n

She switched to soccer and played in the Sasol League for Thunderbirds alongside Banyana Banyana stars Bambanani Mbane and Kholosa Biyana.<\/p>\n

However, it was a brief switch and in grade 9 she started cricket again for the Middledrift Women\u2019s Cricket Club, where she was eventually noticed and brought into the Border U19 girls\u2019 team and the Border senior provincial team.<\/p>\n

In 2009, she got her first taste of national cricket when she was selected for the South Africa U-19 women\u2019s team and made her senior debut for the Proteas in 2012.<\/p>\n

When the 31-year-old steps onto the field on Wednesday, she will follow in the footsteps of veteran Makhaya Ntini, who shares a similar background, and Kagiso Rababa by becoming the third black South African player to reach 100 ODI caps.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just a cricketer. I will take it as if I\u2019m achieving a milestone that others have achieved, not looking at the thing that I will be the first one,\u201d Khaka said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always looked up to Makhaya Ntini growing up because he was the person I could relate to because we come from the same part of the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWith KG [Rabada], he is growing and a youngster. But the experience he has shows every day.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m grateful to have been part of a group that has achieved that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Ntini is from a village called Mdingi, less than 50km from Xesi.<\/p>\n

The Proteas lead 1-0 in the three-ODI series. They have a chance to clinch yet another series win in Potchefstroom and points towards the ICC Women\u2019s ODI Championship (2022-2025), which determines qualification for the World Cup.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About South-Africa<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. Not many South African cricket players get to play 100 internationals, but fast bowler Ayabonga Khaka will add her name to that list when she takes to the field against Sri Lanka at the JB Marks Oval in Potchefstroom on Wednesday. Aspiring young cricketers in Eastern Cape villages and townships want to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":64589,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,17],"tags":[274,315,275],"class_list":["post-64590","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-sport","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-south-africa","tag-south-africa-2"],"yoast_head":"\nAyabonga Khaka will become first black woman to reach 100 Proteas caps - South Africa<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Not many South African cricket players get to play 100 internationals, but fast bowler Ayabonga Khaka will add her name ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/ayabonga-khaka-will-become-first-black-woman-to-reach-100-proteas-caps\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ayabonga Khaka will become first black woman to reach 100 Proteas caps\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Not many South African cricket players get to play 100 internationals, but fast bowler Ayabonga Khaka will add her name ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/ayabonga-khaka-will-become-first-black-woman-to-reach-100-proteas-caps\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"South Africa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-04-17T17:10:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-04-17T17:48:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2024\/04\/sm_1713363340.004512.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"750\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"477\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/ayabonga-khaka-will-become-first-black-woman-to-reach-100-proteas-caps#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/ayabonga-khaka-will-become-first-black-woman-to-reach-100-proteas-caps\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Ayabonga Khaka will become first black woman to reach 100 Proteas caps\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-04-17T17:10:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-04-17T17:48:04+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/ayabonga-khaka-will-become-first-black-woman-to-reach-100-proteas-caps\"},\"wordCount\":532,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/ayabonga-khaka-will-become-first-black-woman-to-reach-100-proteas-caps#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2024\/04\/sm_1713363340.004512.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-South-Africa\",\"South-Africa\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/ayabonga-khaka-will-become-first-black-woman-to-reach-100-proteas-caps#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/ayabonga-khaka-will-become-first-black-woman-to-reach-100-proteas-caps\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/ayabonga-khaka-will-become-first-black-woman-to-reach-100-proteas-caps\",\"name\":\"Ayabonga Khaka will become first black woman to reach 100 Proteas caps - 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