POLOKWANE – Itumeleng Rabothata lays out her coloured pens, gets out her calculator and opens her scoring sheet; it is time for cricket. 

The Turfloop resident says the job entails recording all runs scored, wickets taken and the number of overs bowled. Her job can be very tiring as a scorer can work anywhere between eight to 10 hours a day.

“You have to remain focused throughout the day as you cannot miss any signals from umpires,” she said. Itumeleng explained that two scorers are allocated for each game and that they can either score manually (a scoring sheet) or electronically (a device).

Itumeleng says coloured pens are used to highlight events such as maidens, wickets or to differentiate between the actions of batsmen and bowlers. “Match reports are sent to the coach at the end of the match, so they can give players detailed performance analysis and feedback,” she said.

Her interest in the game began in high school and she has never lost interest. “My training was not hard and I learnt a lot. I am an experienced scorer now and I have been given the opportunity to score around the country,” she said.

Itumeleng says she is treated as part of the team and is invited to team bonding sessions, team meetings and pep talks. “I do not feel intimidated being a female who is always surrounded by male players, because I regard them as my family, and they regard me as their sister,” she said.

She adds that women around the world face various challenges and in order to create a successful sport programme for females, leaders should first be aware of them before they take action. She explained that cricket is a beautiful, yet complicated game but that she loves the game because it brings people together.

“If you are a non-playing cricket-loving individual, scoring is something you can try to keep in touch with the game you love so much,” she concluded.

anne@nmgroup.co.za