Tazmin Brits to play Women’s T20 World Cup for her mother

Tazmin Brits, South Africa Women top-order batter, has suffered so much in her entire life that she was ready to brave the news of her mother Zeldine getting diagnosed with breast cancer. The news came when Brits was getting ready to prepare for the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 and even though she is evidently sad because of the news, the 33-year-old has decided to continue with her trip to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the all-important World Cup. 

"My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer just two weeks ago. Struggle never ends. But now I know how to handle it. And now I know that you've got to keep moving. If you stand still, the world will swallow you in. You've got to keep moving,” Brits was quoted as saying to ESPNCricinfo. 

But this is not the first tragedy for the Klerksdorp-born, who aspired to become a Javelin thrower at the start of her sporting career. However, an accident in 2011, when she was preparing for the 2012 London Olympics, changed everything for her. 

After that freak car accident, she ended up with a broken pelvis, burst bladder and dislocated hip. This put Javelin mostly out of contention because bending hips and using the pelvis forms a major part of throwing the Javelin in the best possible manner. 

After making her switch to cricket, Brits waited in the wings till Dane van Niekerk and Lizelle Lee retired to make the top-order spot her own. However, just after making her ODI debut in January 2021, Brits lost her father to Covid-19 in March 2021. 

Knowing how to survive through tragedy made her bring out the best and in the last 12 months, she has been brilliant as a batter. Having scored two centuries in ODIs and five fifties in T20Is, Brits smashed her maiden T20 hundred as well in a domestic game. She struck at 129.25, which is far better than her career strike rate of 114. 

Describing herself as a batter, Brits said, "I feel like I'm almost Quinton de Kock. If you see a bat, you pick it up, if it feels good, you go with it. I don't do stats and specs and I'm not one of those bookworms. I'm more like a street-smart person."

Last time around, South Africa managed to get into the final of an ICC event for the first time. The feat was replicated by the men’s team this year. Now, the women would look to go one step further and win the country’s first senior ICC  trophy. 

"For our country, winning the World Cup will be a massive thing. I actually get a bit of goosebumps if I think about it,” she said before adding that she would get a tattoo of the trophy if they win it. And if they didn’t?  "We'd better win because I can't walk around with half a tattoo," she said.

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