Perseverance key to success

DINESHA Devnarain is the first woman in 15 years to receive a level three coaching certificate from Cricket South Africa.

Devnarain, 27, plays for and coaches the KwaZuluNatal Ladies Cricket team and believes “there is nothing more fulfilling than playing for your country”.

The unstoppable cricketer, who is also in her second year of Bachelor of Commerce studies, was recently awarded the 2014-15 season’s CSA Provincial Cricketer of the Year award.

Over the last 13 years, she has been remodelling women’s cricket one run at a time, and is credited for her outstanding skills with numerous other accolades.

She will be gearing up for matches against India and the West Indies early next year, and training harder for the T20 World Cup in India in March 2016.

“To wear the green and gold and use the Protea alongside your heart is one of the best feelings you will ever receive in your life. Being able to tour the world is fantastic… Cricket taught me how to live life, and that’s the biggest lesson for me,” she explained.

Her successes haven’t come without a price though, as she spoke on how a potentially career-ending injury at age 19 threatened her athletic dreams and ambitions.

Over the last decade, Devnarain, pictured, has persevered with extensive physiotherapy and other initiatives to overcome the impact of a stretch fracture on her lower back.

“To be honest, it has never really healed … it is one of those injuries that you have to maintain. You have to try and co-ordinate everything and you can’t push that limit. It affected my bowling, because I have never reached that speed again,” she said.

She added that the main thing was knowing where you stood. She said if she had continued to play, she would have ended her career at that point.

Instead, she turned things around and improved her batting, and laughs about being “a good all-round cricketer”.

“Getting back into it involved a lot of rehab and physiotherapy. A lot of frustration was built up because you just want to get on the park and play. You need to be disci- plined in knowing when you need to stop or get back, and know when to make it work,” said Devnarain.

Her biggest blow came five years ago when her father (Ray), who was also her mentor and greatest fan, died of kidney failure.

Devnarain suffered another loss two years ago when her younger sister also passed away in a car accident.

If anything, she has redirected all her energy into her sport, pushing aside personal issues to coach and play to the best of her abilities, despite her pain.

Being passionate about cricket has allowed her to liaise with other coaches from the Sunfoil Dolphins to strategically improve the game.

“I am grateful to Cricket SA for all the opportunities I have received over the years, and to my family, who have always been there for me,” she said.

Drawing from her personal experiences, challenges and accomplishments, Devnarain said: “If you are passionate about something, just go out there and do it, because that’s half your battle won. When you do something you don’t enjoy, you will never be successful.”

Follow Denisha Devnarain on Twitter: @dinesha12 or me, on @SheetalCross.