Ayabonga Khaka is South Africa's underrated seam dynamo

ANANYA UPENDRAN: At first glance, you'd think Khaka, the third prong in South Africa's seam attack alongside Marizanne Kapp and Shabnim Ismail, was the weakest link. But, as the cliché goes, appearances can be deceptive

One glance at South Africa's team sheet and two bowlers stand out: Marizanne Kapp and Shabnim Ismail, arguably the best new ball pair in the women's game today. Between them, they have taken 315 ODI wickets and are as attacking and skilful as they come: Ismail, with her pace and bounce, and Kapp, with her accuracy and swing.

Get through them, and you face Ayabonga Khaka.

If Ismail and Kapp are the typical, mean, snarling speedsters charging in to unleash thunderbolts, Khaka is their antithesis. Her serene manner and seemingly lackadaisical approach make her an outlier in the pace cartel. She ambles in to bowl with what appears to be little effort; there is no obvious power or strength in her delivery.

If you were watching her for the first time, you'd think she is the weakest link in South Africa's attack.

But, as the cliché goes, appearances can be deceptive.

Closing in on a decade in international cricket, Khaka has proven herself as one of the best in the business: 77 ODIs yielding 106 wickets at just over 23. In many ways, the 29-year-old is the glue that holds the attack together.

^{Marizanne Kapp [Andy Jackson/Getty Images] and Shabnim Ismail [Fiona Goodall/Getty Images]}

"Ayabonga Khaka brings so much control to the South African attack," broadcaster and commentator Natalie Germanos tells The Cricketer. "She is normally the first change bowler and can open the bowling if required, but only does it in the absence of Shabnim or Marizanne.

"Khaka's control gives those two the freedom to just be able to bowl how they would like to bowl. She is almost like the conduit between the seamers and the spinners, and I think she gives them so much stability."

Her consistency and unwavering accuracy means she is often seen as the team's holding bowler, performing a role similar to Kate Cross or Nicola Carey. In reality, as Germanos suggests, she is their safety net: further tightening the screws if the opening bowlers have taken early wickets, or pulling things back if the batters have gotten off to a flier.

Khaka, who spent much of her early career working with former South Africa fast bowler Mfuneko Ngam at Fort Hare Academy, is an incredibly versatile bowler. She has the skills to swing the new ball, can attack the stumps and dry up runs in the middle overs, and also bowls very good yorkers and slower balls at the death.

While it is one thing to have several tricks up your sleeve, understanding how to use them is another altogether. Khaka's ability to quickly assess conditions and recognise which of her variations could be most useful makes her an extremely tricky customer. She puts this down to learning through experiences – her own, and those of her bowling partners.

Ayabonga Khaka ODI statistics

77 matches, 106 wickets, 23.38 average, 4.02 economy, 5-26 best figures

"As a bowling unit, we learn a lot from each other. I think the thing is, everyone is very versatile and bowls at different stages of the game even at provincial level. The more you get exposed to different situations and conditions, the more you grow," Khaka says.

The numbers suggest that Khaka is the best change bowler in the world. She has the most wickets in ODIs bowling first change, with 58 scalps, surpassing former Pakistan skipper Sana Mir who held the record with 54. Among active cricketers, India off-spinner Deepti Sharma (32) is Khaka’s closest competition.

In this edition of the ODI World Cup, Khaka’s contributions, in the absence of Dane van Niekerk, are more important than ever.

Against Bangladesh, she came into the attack while the openers were still batting and triggered a collapse. Against England, she was thrown the ball after Kapp had run through the top order, and piled on the pressure. And against New Zealand, she bowled superbly at the death, nailing her yorkers and slower deliveries to keep the hosts to a sub-par total.

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Khaka is fiercely protective of her family – the South African team. That loyalty and passion reflect in the bond she shares with Kapp and Ismail: they sink or swim together.

"They've come a long way together," van Niekerk told gsport. "I think what makes their partnership so incredibly powerful and special is just the bond they share. They have always got each other's backs. They are competitive, but they celebrate each other’s success; that’s the main thing for me."

^{Khaka (right) celebrating her 100th ODI wicket [Sanka Vidanagama/Getty Images]}

Germanos adds: "They are three very different personalities. Aya is very quiet, she's sort of the private person. Kappie is very intense – she's very serious about everything that she does and you don't often see her smile. Whereas Ismail can be the sort of joker; the naughty child in a way! Their personalities balance each other out.

"They know each other's strengths really well and know their weaknesses as well, but most importantly, know how to get around those weaknesses. They probably don't even have to tell each other what they are going to do, they just kind of know. On the field, everything sort of just clicks into place with the three of them."

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When Khaka dismissed Bangladesh's Rumana Ahmed with an inswinger that caught the inside edge of her bat and was taken expertly by 'keeper Trisha Chetty, she became only the fifth South African – and the first black African – to reach the 100-wicket mark in ODIs.

Having achieved the milestone in 74 matches, she is also the second fastest South African to reach the mark, behind Ismail.

While she played down the achievement herself, saying it wasn't something she paid too much attention to, Germanos reiterates the wider significance.

"In the big picture it's a massive achievement. For young black girls in just about any country in the world, but particularly South Africa, to see another black woman doing something so special, is huge.

"Khaka's control gives those two the freedom to just be able to bowl how they would like to bowl. She is almost like the conduit between the seamers and the spinners, and I think she gives them so much stability"

"I can't help but compare it with Makhaya Ntini, because you think of Makhaya and what he would have done for young black kids back home looking at him and going, 'oh my gosh! This is possible, we can do it!'.

"We so often talk about, 'you can't be what you can't see' and if you are not seeing it, it's so hard to believe that you can actually do it. Makhaya certainly paved the way for that, and in many ways Aya's paved the way from a female's point of view and I would actually even go as far as saying even for some black male cricketers back home.

"To see this role model – the way she's conducted herself, the effort she has put in, the loyalty, the commitment – it's all so amazing."

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Between January 2016 and July 2018, Khaka took 60 ODI wickets – the second-most, behind teammate Sune Luus (69). After years of struggling to find a consistent spot in South Africa's XI, she had emphatically underlined her importance to the side. But then came a shoulder injury.

"The injury came when I was not expecting it," she says. "I believe I was at the peak of my career and it (rehabilitation) drained me a lot. It was not at all easy and a very long journey back, but during that time I understood myself better as a person and it helped me a lot."

First told she would be out of the game for only three to six months, Khaka ended up missing more than a year of competitive cricket. She struggled through that period, even questioning whether she would ever return to the field, but she credits "a strong support network", family, physiotherapists and trainers, for pushing her through "the tough times".

^{Only Sune Luus took more ODI wickets than Khaka between January 2016 and July 2018 [Andy Jackson/Getty Images]}

Although the time away robbed her of the opportunity to build on the momentum she had created, Germanos believes the break reignited the fire. Since her return in September 2019, Khaka has picked up from where she left off, topping the ODI bowling charts with 44 wickets, just ahead of Ismail (41).

Despite her incredible numbers in recent years, Khaka's understated personality means she rarely receives the attention or adulation that her more charismatic teammates command.

"I'm sure the team themselves have always known the value she brings to their attack, but I do think Ayabonga Khaka is going to finish as one of the most underrated cricketers," Germanos reflects. "In some ways, it's got to do with her personality as well – she is very private, not very outspoken, which means people sort of don't really 'see' her.

"I'd think it's because of that that she sits in the shadow of Ismail and Kapp. That's not where she belongs! She belongs right next to them."

At only 29, the youngest member of what van Niekerk has often referred to as the "world's best seam contingent", Khaka has plenty left in the tank. She is, in the opinion of her skipper, slowly coming into her own – playing more of a lead role with the younger bowlers and being more vocal within the setup.

While she continues to evade the spotlight, Khaka's place in the upper echelons of South African cricket should no longer be in doubt – her numbers alone are testament to that.

As Germanos concludes: "I can only look forward to young girls one day saying my hero was Aya. I can just well imagine that that’s going to happen. She's worked with some amazing people back home like Mfuneko Ngam and has been amongst these legends for a long time.

"At the beginning of her career, I'm sure it must have been very inspiring for her. Now, she is one of those legends herself."