Nsovo Nkuna – Player Profile (Nkowankowa Girls Hub)
Playing an integral part in your side’s success during the second season of the Switch Schools SA20 is noteworthy; doing so at just 13 years of age is jaw-dropping.
Yet, that is exactly what Nsovo Nkuna, of the Nkowankowa Hub Girls side, has done. She captured nationwide attention with her remarkable spell of six wickets for no runs against Hoërskool Zwartkop in the recent Phase Two regional playoffs for the Northern Region at the end of January in Benoni.
Nkowankowa Hub lifted the title for a second consecutive year, making them the only team to win the Northern Region’s girls’ title since the competition’s inception in 2024.
Now, they head into Phase Three, The Final Showdown, which takes place from 3 March at the University of Pretoria.
“One won’t believe that she is 13 when looking at that performance,” said Blessing Mabunda, Nkuna’s coach, of her remarkable spell against Zwartkop.
Among her peers and coaching staff, she has become known for her maturity on the field, despite her young age.
“Nsovo is a quiet girl who shows barely any emotion. It takes real nerves to bowl a spell like hers without cracking under pressure. She showed class and maturity, and she, as well as the rest of the team, was very proud of that performance,” Mabunda shared.
Nkuna, from Nkambako Village in Tzaneen, began playing cricket at the age of nine. She emerged from the highly successful KFC Mini Cricket programme, which, particularly in Limpopo, plays a crucial role in helping young children fall in love with the game.
Over the past few years, she has exhibited tremendous growth. Despite not yet earning provincial colours, the young seamer has continued to work hard, often operating in the shadow of seamers three or four years her senior.
Nsovo Nkuna won’t be the only member of her family at The Final Showdown. Her older sister, Alicia, is also a key member of Nkowankowa’s seam attack. It will be her second visit to the third phase of the national T20 competition.
While Nsovo Nkuna’s talents with the ball have stolen the spotlight thus far, coach Blessing Mabunda said she has more to offer. Nkuna is a more than capable batter, he said. She will be an important player for Nkowankonwa in that role at The Final Showdown, he added, and in the years to come.
