Player Profile – Enathi Kitshini (CSA Invitational Hub)
The dream for many Thembalethu residents is to make enough money to open up a life outside of the township.
The reality is that most will never do so because opportunities for upward mobility are scarce.
The lucky ones find employment as construction or farm labourers, while the unlucky ones fall into the clutches of either substance abuse or embrace a life of crime, or both.
Enathi Kitshini is, however, the chosen one. Everyone on his street believes it’s only a matter of time before he gets his big break and leaves Thembalethu. He appears to be unaffected by his circumstances and surroundings.
Kitshini, who was orphaned at an early age, along with his four siblings, has held himself to a higher standard.
“He was like any other kid when he joined us at the hub, but it wasn’t long before he differentiated himself from them,” Mihlali Gcanga, one of Kitshini’s coaches at Thembalethu Hub, situated at Imizamo Yethu Secondary School, told SuperSport Schools Plus.
Kitshini was always the last one to leave the nets, which are located in a part of the township renowned for criminal activity. After the 1.5km walk to his home, the spinner honed his skills by bowling a tennis ball at the wall of the Wendy house that serves as a bedroom for him and his brother. He did this while ignoring the loud music and chatter from the tavern next door to their home.
“When there is no other way, you embrace your circumstances and make the best of it,” Graham October, a CSA scout, who has known Kitshini since he was nine years old, said.
October first met Kitshini at the u13 trials for the South Western Districts. The spinner would have been picked for the team had he not been too small in stature. Kitshini was selected for the trials again when he was 10; Again, though, his size led to him missing out on selection for the provincial side.
Now, though, trips to Oudtshoorn for provincial trials and subsequent provincial and national tours have opened his eyes to a world beyond Thembalethu. Those experiences have fuelled a hunger in him to succeed and presented him with an opportunity to improve his family’s lives.
“He doesn’t need a coach to tell him to go to the nets. He drags the coaches to the nets, and when they are busy, he goes alone and works on specific parts of his bowling,” October revealed.
October, Gcanga, and Kitshini’s SA u19 coaches, Malibongwe Maketa and Paul Adams, describe the diminutive spinner as a small man with a big heart. Nothing explains that phrase more than his attitude towards the allowances he gets from CSA for going on national tours.
Kitshini doesn’t spend a cent of that money and uses all of it to buy groceries for the home he shares with his siblings. His brother works in retail, while his two sisters are domestic workers; their earnings barely cover the necessities. On the field, he shows his big heart by fighting until the last delivery is bowled.
“He is a streetfighter. You can put him in the most hopeless situation, and he will find a way to keep fighting for the team,” Adams said.
Gcanga provided an example of that never-give-up mentality by citing Kitshini’s recent performance for the Thembalethu Hub u19 team against Hoërskool Outeniqua. Outeniqua ripped through the Hub batting lineup with great bowling, but Kitshini stopped the procession of wickets by resolutely farming the strike.
The Hub side had a minimal chance of winning the game with the bat, Gcanga said. Kitshini, though, took the game as deep as possible before unfurling his full range of attacking shots. His unbeaten half-century, while not enough, almost catapulted the Hub to victory.
Adams, who first met Kitshini at a spin bowling clinic nine years ago, has watched the bowler’s development with pride. Identifying some of the SA Schools captain’s strengths, he pointed to Kitshini’s awareness and intelligence in match situations. He no longer looks for the miracle ball and capitalises on his strengths, Adams said.
“Kitshini relies on control and is prolific in hitting the stumps. He has mastered the art of varying his pace, thanks to the work he has done with Paul Adams. It was good to see that he has also learned how to use angles at the crease,” Maketa, the SA u19 head coach, said.
Kitshini, who made his debut for the SWD Garden Route Badgers Colts in February, made a case for himself for higher honours with an outstanding performance. He snared four wickets for 80 runs in 39.1 overs. He also spent 145 minutes in the middle, which brought him a patient 62 runs from 112 balls and helped the Badgers to victory by an innings and two runs over the Border Colts.
“Enathi got an opportunity to play at a higher level, and he took it. Hub kids, especially in our region, generally don’t have many cricket role models close enough for them to be inspired. When you tell them about the possibilities that they have to play at a higher level, they don’t relate because there are no examples close to home. Enathi has become that example,” Gcanga said.
Kitshini’s immediate primary focus, though, will be performing at a high level for the CSA Invitational Hub at the Switch Schools SA20 Final Showdown.
The spinner will offer his skills, cricket knowledge, and resilience – tools that should help his side perform at a high level.
