At 13 many of us were worrying about getting good grades, shopping for the latest fashions and hanging out with friends. We had no idea what we wanted to do for a career. You could say 13 year old Maneka Singh is an anomaly. She’s determined to be successful, motivated to succeed and wants to forge a career in cricket.
The year nine student from Hastings Girls High School made her First Class debut for the Hinds recently against the Canterbury Magicians and spent last week in Christchurch representing Central Districts at the Women’s development tournament.
She is the youngest woman to debut in first class cricket. Munokoa Tunupopo who previously held the record, made her debut for Auckland in 1998 at the age of 14 years nine months.
In the winter Singh plays soccer, but it’s cricket she is most driven to succeed in. She has enjoyed the opportunity to debut for the Hinds and she hopes she will be a main-stay in the team for years to come. “It’s great playing against the older girls. The quality is much better. You know your fielders are going to close the gap, which is a big help when bowling,” she said.
The left arm medium pacer took one wicket on her debut, and she has been making a name for herself with the bowling through club cricket, with her best figures being six wickets for nine runs.
Within the Hinds team she is lead by White Ferns captain Amiee Watkins and Singh would like to follow in Watkins’ footsteps. “My goal is to play for the White Ferns by the time I turn 18,” she said.
“But all of this so far couldn’t have been done without the support from David Black from the Cornwell Cricket Club in Hastings, my dad who takes me to all the games and my mum who gets me up and going in the mornings.”
* Photo courtesy of Kerry Evans - Sports Photographer
