Asakhe Noliroto
All-rounder Asakhe Noliroto was one of the stand out players when Khayelitsha Cricket Club beat Somerset West by 7 wickets in their under-11 match, at Khayelitsha Cricket Oval, at the weekend.
He contributed 29 runs, with Nande Mgatyelwa top-scoring for his side with 35 runs. Ayola Sam and Avela Kama scored 20 and 18 respectively.
It seems Asakhe, 11, enjoys playing against Somerset West, as he says one of his best memories so far came when he scored 52 runs and took two wickets against them.
“I was nine-years-old playing for the Solomon Makhosana selection team then. We won by 27 runs, after successfully defending our 127-run total,” he said.
The Grade 6 pupil at Academia Primary School said his father Nixon, who is a well-known football man in Khayelitsha, was the one who encouraged him to play cricket.
“My father is the one who said I have the muscle to play cricket and I must not think of playing soccer like him when he was young because soccer is a short career.
“He also played school cricket for Chuma Primary School and Bulumko Senior Secondary School. Also my mother was very supportive of the choice I made,” he said.
The youngster also noted that he fell in love with the game from day one. This, he said, is because he enjoys playing the game, whether he’s batting, bowling or fielding.
“Cricket is cool because you learn discipline and it is more fun. And watching on TV players like AB De Villiers and Virat Kohli they just made it easy for me to say I want to be like them one day. I like Chris Morris, his bowling and batting made me love him specially when he hit sixes. I watched videos of Jacques Kallis and I want to score many runs like him,” he said.
The proud father Nixon said the youngster had the right attributes to make serious strides in the game.
“From the games I have attended, I could see he focuses so much on what to do next. And, as someone who knows the cricket game, I can safely say he is in the right direction because every time we chat about performances he always promises to do better and challenges himself.
“A few times he was captain and I saw why he is one of the leaders in the team; he is very idealistic about the game and all the time encouraging his teammates to be at their best. For example, in his partnerships with Nande Mgatyelwa, every time they meet on the crease they build up runs and strategies through the overs,” he said.