PAARL: “Oh, oh oh, I can't even... I'm very proud of him,” says an emotional Princess Mokoena when asked how proud she is of her son and young Paarl Royals fast bowler Nqobani. “Oh, he is like a son to the family, not only to me.”
Nqobani, at 19, is already one of the pacers to watch out for. And he is making waves in the ongoing SA20 league. In the six matches he has played so far, Nqobani has taken nine wickets at an average 21.44 average and 8.77 economy, receiving accolades from legends, including Dale Steyn. The praise does not come without merit. The lanky seamer, who was part of South Africa U19 team at the 2024 World Cup, has been hitting the speed guns and winning matches for his team.
However, the story of Nqobani is not just about his cricketing skills and the sheer pace he generates. It is about a young boy from KwaMashu (one of the townships established under the Apartheid Era in the 1950s to relocate Black South Africans) who survived poverty, crime and other struggles to keep his cricketing dream alive, grabbing every chance that came his way.
Nqobani was raised by Princess, a single mother who works as an assistant in a private firm, with help from her parents. His late grandfather, who used to box back in the day, encouraged Nqobani to stick to cricket when football was the popular sport in the township. Growing up in a 12-member family with his grandmother, elder brother Senzo, along with Princess and her sisters, Nqobani was as mischievous as any young kid in the township. He used to skip classes and play cricket.
“Being a single parent is not easy at all,” Princess recalls during a phone call. “It's even worse if you don't have a better job. I can't remember the age he was, but it wasn't easy for me to buy cricket clothes and boots as they were too expensive. Kids in the township don't focus on school, don't focus on their talent, and don't respect their family. It's a place where you have to accept that you are in a township, but it's a place that you don't want to be when you get a better life.
“In the township, you must have a good parent who is very strict. A parent who will teach you to go to church. If you miss that, you won't survive. Because you will end up in the streets you must have trust in God. That's what keeps me going. I've been praying for this for so many years. I've seen this child. He has a passion for cricket. He has given me respect. I have told him to go to church. You always make sure that he wants a better life,” she explains.
Initially, Nqobani did his schooling at Phoenix, which is where the family could afford at the time. Even then, he did not have money for lunch, but Nqobani never gave up. His mother switched jobs, tried to support him as much as she could but that change in life came through Khalipha Cele, a former KwaZulu-Natal (Natal) cricketer. Cele saw the potential in Nqobani and took him to Northwood School, where he was offered a full sports scholarship.
“I think for his age," Nantie Hayward, director of cricket at Northwood, tells this daily, "he was just a little bit faster than the normal kids. We always knew that Mokoena got something special with him and he can bat as well as an all-rounder. He was a raw, quiet kind of person. He doesn't really say a lot. He would just sit and listen. But as he got used to us, the school environment and the coaches, he started opening up and just became the Mokoena we all know,” the former SA pacer adds.
Initially, it took some convincing from the school, but Hayward vowed to do everything he could for the teenager. “For us, it's important to walk that road when we give the kids the opportunity to come to our schools... My kids come first. So, whatever they need, if there's any need for a new cricket bat, equipment or anything, that's always been my part of where I will always try to look after those kids,” he explains.
Once Nqobani settled in Northwood, there was no looking back. Steadily he rose through the ranks, got selected for South Africa U19 in the 2024 World Cup, and then a Dolphins contract came along. Before the ongoing SA20 season, Nqobani had played only six senior T20Is, as many List-A games and two first-class matches. However, Royals saw the potential in him. The U23 clause helped (a team should have at least two U23 players) and they signed him at the auction for 200000 ZAR. One could sense the excitement in Princess’ voice when asked about watching Nqobani on TV. “Every match that he plays, we have a family prayer,” she says. “We make noise, scream, bang the doors and everything."
While the 19-year-old has moved out of KwaMashu, the family still resides in the township. Even when he visits, Nqobani stays at home for a while before returning to his place. “His safety is our safety,” says Princess, who also understands the positive influence his success has had in the township. “It has brought a huge difference. Cricket has brought light to the people, to their lives. In our township, if you take up football, you end up playing around the town, but cricket has helped him with school work, better education, and also getting to where he wants to be in future. The kids here are starting to train for cricket now,” she adds. Nqobani, too, can see the difference. “A lot of people have been calling, messaging me, wishing me luck. Good to see a lot of people take an interest in cricket,” said the teenager who looks up to KG Rabada.
Over the last week or so, the one thing every significant name in South African cricket — be it Steyn, Graeme Smith or Allan Donald — have said about Nqobani is that he is a “find”.
“I think he is one of those kids who's a little bit ahead of his time. He has a natural action. He seems to be a good athlete. He makes good decisions under pressure, and that's a rare thing. He's up there, and I think he's still developing from an athletic point of view. He is definitely a find,” said Donald on Saturday.
And Nqobani’s mother put it succinctly: “This is the start. We want him to be where he wants to be.” Indeed, the 19-year-old is only getting started, and the world is going to see and hear a lot more about him and KwaMashu in the years to come.