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Proteas Women coach Mandla Mashimbyi has explained what role he foresees for seam bowler Tumi Sekhukhune within the team, not only at the upcoming World Cup but also going forward within their set-up.
Sekhukhune was named in the 15-player squad that’s set to represent the country at the 50-over showpiece in India starting later this month.
Although Mashimbyi used Sekhukhune sparingly in their last two tours in the sub-continent and the Caribbean, he outlined why she’s an important member of the team.
"Tumi gives us a different type of skill in terms of the make-up of our bowling attack. We've got bowlers that are batchers of the wicket, so they hit the wicket hard, they come at you. We've got bowlers that can nip it around, we've got bowlers that can swing it, where Tumi comes in, is the consistency of how she executes her skill,” Mashimbyi said.
Mashimbyi says the 26-year-old could play a key role for them towards the end of the tournament, where most of the wickets have taken a bit of a beating already.
He commended her for the way in which she’s able to bowl controlled spells when she comes in.
"With the right fields, we feel that if she gets an opportunity to play, she will play a big role in making sure that, especially at the latter end of the tournament when the wickets are slow and low,” the coach added.
“As we know, she's not the tallest, so she won't get much bounds which will make it tough for batters to get underneath her. So, she's more of a controller type of bowler and we hope that if she gets an opportunity she can execute."
