Ravensmead resident, 19-year-old Leeshay Walker, is a bowling all-rounder for the Western Cape’s top women’s cricket team, UWC, who have been undefeated in the T20 and 50-Over game for the last 3 years! It’s a phenomenal achievement, especially when you discover that 12-year-old Leeshay did not even like cricket.
“I was a netball girl,” she laughs while thinking back. “But my grandparents were cricket fanatics and they used to watch it all the time and I think it seeped into my psyche somehow.”
Cricket was introduced as an extra-curricular choice at her local primary school, Pinedene, when Leeshay was in grade 6.
“One of our teachers suggested starting a women’s cricket team and I still don’t know why I joined, but I did. Soon after, we combined with the Tygerberg Cricket Club and about a year later, something just clicked and I realized I had fallen in-love with the game.”
And there it goes again…The words from the hit reggae-style 1978 song, Dreadlock Holiday which contains the refrain: “I don’t like cricket…oh no…I love it…” The song, by 10cc, was inspired by a real-life Jamaican holiday and the cricket quote was actually made by a Jamaican cricket fan.
“Joining Tygerberg, sort of galvanized my cricket energy and I quickly developed a firm grasp of the rules, the plays, the positions and general game strategy. I found myself enthusiastically putting in hours and hours of training on the pitch as well as in the gym. I remember coming home one day from practice and my dad remarked at how deeply tanned I had become in my face and wanted to know what I had been up to,” another laugh.
Soon coaches encouraged her to go for Western Province trials, which she hit for six and ended up playing for the senior team of the Tygerberg Women’s Cricket Club at the tender age of 13. Not long thereafter she was “auctioned off” for R50 000 to the Vikings! No, no, not the marauding heathens from Norway, the local cricket franchise, Vikings.
“It was a magical experience to play with ladies more experienced than me, because I was the youngest in the team and, some of the oldest players were about 30 years old. I learnt so much from ladies like Robin Appels, Tatum Le Roux and many others.
Leeshay has already achieved her first “fiver” for the year, taking 5 wickets for 13 runs in 8 overs against Victoria Cricket Club, based near Hanover Park. She’s also notched up impressive figures of conceding only 15 runs from 60 balls bowled.
UWC Women’s Cricket team plays in the Women’s Cricket Premiere League and competes against: Somerset West, Mutual, Pollsmoor, Western Province, Kleinvlei, Victoria, Durbanville, Gugulethu and Hollywoodbets Bellville. UWC are the current champions of the league.
“While bowling is my forte, I’m no slouch with the bat either,” she says with humility. “Coaches often bring me in at number 5 or 6, or even 8th in the batting line-up, depending on how the game is going and if we need to score runs further down the order.”
I ask her dad, Basil, about the secret to his daughter’s success. “Obviously she has a God-given talent, but I do think that parental and community support makes a massive difference. My wife and I have always supported Leeshay’s choices, and I often travel with her when she plays away from her home province.”
Basil is better known as Pastor Basil Walker in the Ravensmead community and is a popular figure who runs a successful Security business. He started off his career as an engineer and had the opportunity to travel to various international destinations, like the USA, UK and Thailand for his work.
Proud parents, Pastor Basil and Lesca Walker
My dad has inspired me on so many levels, especially with my relationship with God. But also, with his tales of his travels, and I have to say that I do dream of playing cricket overseas one day, preferably in the United Kingdom, the ancestral home of the sport. I am also not averse to being snatched up by another provincial team,” there’s that knowing smile again.
Leeshay is currently into her 2nd year as a Social Work student at the University of the Western Cape and has two more years to go before setting her sights on a Master’s Degree.
“I’ve always felt a pull towards social work, even in primary school, and it suits my personality well. I also want to have a positive impact on our communities and change the narrative and inspire the future generation to be all they can be, both in sport and in life.”
