Kayla Reyneke smashes the ball for six against New Zealand.
Image: BackpagePix
At the age of 20 years and 159 days, Kayla Reyneke on Sunday became the first Women’s cricketer to hit a six off the last ball to win a match on her T20I and ODI debut.
It was thrilling stuff. The fact that Reyneke also outshone the Proteas’ regular ace ‘finisher’ Nadine de Klerk, the world is surely now at the feet of the former SA U19 captain with T20 franchises set to come searching for the youthful Western Province allrounder very soon.
Reyneke had shown her big-hitting prowess during the preceding T20I series already, but she went one better at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch by belting an unbeaten 42 off only 32 balls to edge the Proteas over the line by two wickets in the first ODI.
To place it further into perspective, there had been no sixes hit in their entire 99 overs leading up to Sophie Bates’ final over with the Proteas requiring 14 off the last six balls to overhaul the White Ferns’ 268 all out.
Reyneke smashed two - off the third and last balls - that showed her ability to once again deliver when the pressure is at its most intense.
“Yeah, it was a pretty special moment. As a youngster, I'm just trying to soak it all in,” she said.
“Obviously, it was very stressful, but I was just thinking six runs. I wanted a stable base and to hit through the line.
“I think when you stay as calm as possible in the moment, you know, nothing is impossible. I just wanted to win for my team and my country.”
At such a young and impressionable age, it would be easy to get carried away with the success attained, but Reyneke remains humble, and particularly paid tribute to De Klerk (39 off 39 balls) for guiding her through their 48-run partnership for the seventh wicket that turned the game in the favour of the Proteas.
“She was just saying, stay calm, and not think too far ahead,” Reyneke said. “We were trying to take it ball by ball.
“As a youngster, you want to learn as much as possible in those moments from someone with her experience. You want to be a sponge and learn as much as possible.”
She was also full of praise for Annerie Dercken (72) and Sune Luus (53) for setting up the chase through their excellent 123-run stand for the third wicket.
“Credit to Dercksen and Luus at the top of the order for building that solid partnership,” she said. “Really good batting.”
While young Reyneke shone with the bat, it was veteran Ayabonga Khaka that did the damage for the ball for the Proteas after captain Laura Wolvaardt elected to insert the White Ferns.
The wiry seamer collected a career-best 6/56 that would on any other day been good enough for the Player of the Match award.
Captain Wolvaardt was particularly elated with Khaka’s performance.
“What makes her special is her ability to bowl in every single phase. She was excellent in the powerplay, got a bit of swing, and got us off to a really nice start,” Wolvaardt said.
“Then she's able to bowl in the middle and at the death as well. I thought she used her death plans quite well to pick up those wickets at the end.”
The Proteas now move across to the New Zealand capital, Wellington, for the second ODI at the Basin Reserve on Tuesday.