'It's frustrating because this is the year I decided to opt for cricket as a career'

Happy birthday! Did you have a big party planned?
No, nothing major, but I was going to do something at home with friends, because it seems you have to celebrate when you turn 21. But obviously now we won't be doing that. I'll just be at home with my mom, dad, and my younger brother. We'll probably just bake a cake and buy some sweets and have a little celebration.

Do you bake?
I'm not but my mom is pretty good, so she'll be making the cake.

What kind of cake are you going to ask her to make?
Marble cake. She makes that a lot and we eat a little every day, with a cup of coffee.

How have you been keeping fit during this time?
I do like to train hard but am quite limited at the moment. We have a driveway and a garden and I have some weights and bands. Every now and then my brother throws some balls at me but we don't have the space for a net. And I also don't want to break any windows and get into any trouble with mom so I am just not doing a lot of batting at the moment. So I haven't been batting as much as I usually do.

Are you finding it quite difficult to be so restricted?
I think this is the longest I've gone without batting. It's really frustrating, especially because this came just after the T20 World Cup and we really had some momentum as a team. We reached the semi-finals there and it felt like things were coming together. We didn't get to play our series against Australia, which was supposed to be finished by now. It's crazy to think we would have played three ODIs and three T20s in this time. Personally, it's also been quite frustrating because this is the year that I made the decision to opt for cricket as a career.

A lot of people who have followed your story knew that you were tossing up between becoming a doctor or a professional sportsperson. Can you tell us a bit more about how you made your choice?
It was a really difficult decision to make, and I actually only made it two months ago. I was accepted for medicine at the University of Stellenbosch straight out of matric [South Africa's final year of school] in 2018 and I did about a month of the first year and then I had a big cricket tour [against India]. I went and spoke to the university and asked them how I could manage to keep playing and studying and they suggested that I take a gap year so I wouldn't lose my place. That was extended for another year in 2019 but then this year, I couldn't do it again. So I decided on cricket and my place went to someone else. I am still studying for a Bachelor of Science degree part-time.

Are you hoping to go on to become a doctor after your playing days?
I'm not sure, but one of my parents' rules was that I had to keep studying something, because even if the women's game is professionalising, we don't earn as much as the men, and when cricket is over, you need to be able to slot into a job at around 30 or 35.

Have you been in touch with many of your team-mates to see how they are coping?
We've been WhatsApping and calling each other. Lizelle Lee was supposed to get married, but otherwise, everyone is just doing the same thing. Some gym work, some house stuff, some television. Marizanne Kapp and Dane van Niekerk have quite a nice home gym set-up with weights and a Wattbike, so I am quite jealous of them. And Mignon [du Preez] and her husband went on a virtual safari, so that's pretty cool.

Who is the team-mate you'd like to be quarantined with?
Sune Luus. We're really good friends. She is at her home in Pretoria and we've been chatting a lot.

Apart from your training, studying and online socialising, what else are doing with your days?
I clean the house and help mom with the food and watch Netflix. I've started a new series called Money Heist - it's really good.

Have you cooked anything interesting?
I've learnt a few new things in the kitchen but I'm not a very good cook, so it's mostly just about observing mom. I can make an omelette now, if that counts. And eggs and bacon. I am good at breakfasts, but not so much anything else.

But you are good at music, right?
I sing and play the guitar a little, but I haven't done it in a while. Maybe now is a good time to get it out.

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