The country’s women’s senior cricket side, the Capricorn Eagles, will start life without without one of its best, if not the best, female cricketers to come out of this country: Irene van Zyl, following her retirement from the game.
Van Zyl (40), who learned to play cricket at the tender age of 12, surprisingly only stepped onto the international arena at the age of 33.
In 2019, she made her Capricorn Eagles debut against Botswana in Windhoek, and never looked back since that debut.
Ironically, she was inspired by retired male cricketers Danie Keulder and Deon Kotze, who both started a cricket academy.
Throughout her career, van Zyl played 67 T20 international matches, showcasing her talent and tenacity. With her right-arm medium pace, she delivered 1,168 balls, claiming 47 wickets at an impressive average of 19.25 and an economy rate of 4.64.
This week, Confidente caught up with the legendary female cricketer, who shared her journey, passion for the game, best moments, and what is next for her.
“I actually started when I was in grade five, and that time I used to play with the boys as there was no girls’ cricket way back then. Since making my debut, it was not as intense and demanding as it became in the last five to six years, as way back we would only gather as a unit a few months before a tournament.
“Cricket teaches you to be humble, as one day you can be the team hero and the next day you can have your worst game. You meet people from all over the world. You get into contact with star players and very passionate coaches/management. And lastly, you make friends for life,” said van Zyl.
With many matches behind her, van Zyl will surely go down in the history of the country’s sport as one of the greatest daughters to have graced the sport of cricket.
Just like many other sports heroes and heroines, there is always that great moment that any sportsman/sportswoman will forever remember, in particular against Uganda.
“There are a few actually. We had a few very close encounters against Uganda in the past. And it usually came in deciding matches at African Qualifiers. Defending low totals versus them and Tanzania. Getting career best bowling figures of four wickets for seven runs against Uganda in Zimbabwe, also an African Qualifier. And the day we beat Zimbabwe here in Windhoek was very special. Also the 4-2 series victory versus the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2023 in Dubai,” said van Zyl.
With the country starting the year with a trip to Uganda, which started on Wednesday (March 5th) to 18th March, in the T20 International matches against host Uganda, Hong Kong, and Nepal, it will be a big task for another player to easily fill the shoes left behind by van Zyl.
“Now with the current set-up, you train every day and there is hardly something like a ‘cricket season’ for the national sides. The game has evolved tremendously and grown exponentially in Namibia. It has always been an honour representing my country and I tried to play every game to the best of my ability. I felt it was the right time now to retire, as I did achieve what I could.
“When you have a full-time job as well, it becomes very difficult to balance that and trying to play professional cricket. The future stars and current squad are more than capable of achieving great success, especially at the current level of the Capricorn Eagles. I am very passionate about umpiring as well, so that is the next step for me,” said van Zyl.