Kayla Reyneke relishing opportunity to tour with Proteas Women

Reyneke received her maiden ODI call-up from coach Mandla Mashimbyi and the selectors after inspiring performances in the recent T20 series against Pakistan, where she got among other things a player-of-the-match accolade on debut in Potchefstroom. 

The youngster says her goal on the tour will be to absorb as much as possible from the more senior players, but also not forgetting about the enjoyment part of the game.

"So, it's my first time visiting New Zealand and I'm pretty excited for that but also it's going to be ODI cricket so I'm looking forward to learning as much as possible. I've always been open to learning and growing in a space like this but the most important is to have fun because that's why you play the game," Reyneke said.

READ: SABC Sport to broadcast historic clash between Mamelodi Sundowns and RB Leipzig

The 19-year-old burst onto the scene with an unbelievable 2/13 in the match and also scored the winning runs with a well-played 29. 

She says while her popularity sky-rocketed since that day at the JB Marks Oval, she is managing her new-found fame and keeping her feet firmly on the ground while working hard.

"There's always going to be a lot of noise and expectation from outside but it's important to just keep your head down and keep working hard on your own game. It was definitely a team effort but I was happy to contribute like that at the end of the day but my phone was overflowing with all the messages which I was really grateful for," she added.

50-over cricket is completely different to the T20 format, and Reyneke will be hoping to impress there too with the coach keen to build a team for the 2029 World Cup.