It only takes
two scrambled eggs and a few slices of toasted brown bread to get Chevrolet
Warriors’ all-rounder, Ayabulela Gqamane, out of bed. I had the privilege
of spending a morning session in the gym with the talented cricketer, who at
the time was preparing for the upcoming domestic cricket season which gets
underway after the winter period.
Born in the
grassland area of Mdingi, a rural village on the outskirts of King William’s
Town in the Eastern Cape, Gqamane relentlessly states that his recent success
with the Warriors has been a dream he long had since cricket was introduced to
him by his brothers at the tender age of five.
Weighting
only 65kg, Aya relentlessly keeps other Virgin Active gym members in
Greenacres, which is situated near the central region of Port Elizabeth,
astonished when they notice him squat a warping 150kg on the squat machine
press. "It's all in
the mind. People just don't seem to understand that you have to rise up to the
challenge with positive mind and in doing so –finding joy in what could be
potentially hurting" says Gqamane.
But there's
more than meets the eye about the calm, friendly and non-vocal cricketer. He’s
upbringing says a whole lot about his humbleness towards people in his
community. Whether if it’s at his hometown in Mdingi, or in East London and
Port Elizabeth. The two cities you would often find Gqamane steaming in from
his bowling mark in black and green Chevrolet Warriors colours with number 14 placed
boldly on his back.
There's not a
doubt that Gqamane arguably lives for the gentlemen’s game. It was the Border
Cricket Union and its development academy which scouted his passion in
Mdingi; granting him a scholarship to enroll at Dale College Primary School in
King William's Town, one of Eastern Cape's top sporting schools producing a
number of Proteas and Springbok capped players.
But after
some years spend in Dale Primary, Gqamane felt a change of scenery was needed.
So in 2005, he enrolled into the prestigious Hudson Park High School where he
matriculated in 2008. It was in 2008 in which he, along with his Border U19
cricket team, achieved major success finishing first place in the inaugural CSA
U19 Khaya Majola Coca-Cola Cricket Week. Soon after his U19 cricket week
success, Gqamane was granted a first-class debut two years later for Border
against the bowling-dominant North West outfit in 2010.
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| Aya Gqamane warming up for a routine gym session |
However, in
the space of the two years after his matriculation [2008-2010], Gqamane had to
find himself as a person by going through many soul-searching moments in his youthful
life. One of those moments was when he went abroad to England for a minor
cricketing winter stint; playing Minor County Cricket for Coventry and North
Warwickshire. "I stopped playing
for a year after my matric year to focus on my social hockey. I was not really
sure were my cricket was going at the time, despite me being in Border
Cricket’s plans. It was only when I dearly started missing cricket that I took
it upon me to go to England and play some club cricket there during the South
African winter period," confesses Gqamane.
After a
decent club cricket season in England, Aya then returned back to South
Africa where he surprisingly found himself being selected for the Border Amateur
provincial team to tour Potchefstroom in the North West. “I was surprised about
the call up. I didn’t expect it whatsoever. But I rate because of the decent
season I had in England and them [Border] needing an all-rounder in the team,
they opt in selecting me,” Says Gqamane.
The tour to
Potchefstroom for Gqamane would be the beginning of his stardom rise to the top.
After a sterling debut season for the Border outfit, Gqamane at 21-years-old
secured himself a Warriors franchise contract; after being the third highest
wicket-takers in the CSA 3-Day Challenge Amateur competition. His rapid success
did not end there. After a year of waiting on the side-lines, Gqamane was
eventually rewarded with his professional franchise debut for the Warriors
against the Highveld Lions in Johannesburg in the domestic Sunfoil Series. 4/46
and 7/24 was elegantly place next to Gqamane on the scoreboard. In the next
Sunfoil Series fixture against the Nashua Titans, Gqamane again pulled another
trick up his sleeves by scoring a remarkable 86 runs off 89 balls batting as a
tail-ender at no.10. These and many other consistent performances forced
selectors to keep an eye on his talent; selecting him for the SA Invitational
Squad to play against Pakistan in early January this year and the SA Emerging
Squad which played in a triangular series against Namibia and the Netherlands
in Windhoek.
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| Aya Gqamane in his bowling stride (Picture: Daily Dispatch) |
“I was
disappointed not to have played against Pakistan in East London, but I was
pleased to be selected for the SA Invitational Squad. I was most satisfied by
that as I never in a million dreams expected to be selected for such a squad in
my first season of professional cricket. Regarding the tour with the SA
Emerging Squad, I got as much as I could from the entire experience. Building
friendships as well with guys like Mangi [Mosehle] and Khaya [Zondo],” says Gqamane with a grin on his face. After his debut professional season for the
Warriors, it’s a guarantee that if Gqamane keeps up the hard work in the gym
–he shall soon find himself wearing the Proteas
-Mandilulame Manjezi
@JizzyjakesTheIn
