Western Provinc batter Fayte Tunnicliffe.
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Faye Tunnicliffe may have missed out on the upcoming tour Proteas Women’s team’s tour to New Zealand, but the record-breaking Western Province top-order batter is not going to let her personal disappointment be a distraction in the Hollywoodbets Pro50 and Pro20 Finals at Kingsmead this weekend.
Tunnicliffe has become the first woman to pass the 400-run barrier in a single domestic season, surpassing the previous domestic record of 386 runs set by her Proteas teammate Tazmin Brits.
It led to a recall to the Proteas team, where Tunnicliffe struck her maiden T20I half-century against Ireland, while she also hit a marvelous 109 for the SA Emerging XI against Pakistan Women before following it up with an ODI career-best 47 against the Pakistanis in Durban.
Unfortunately, it was not enough to get her on the plane for the five-match T20I and three-match ODI series against the White Ferns with her provincial teammate Dane van Nierkerk preferred instead.
“I was stoked to get the opportunity. I think I played one of the one-dayers against Ireland and a couple of the T20s. But yeah, obviously being back in that space, I'm slightly older now, so I think I have a better sense of self, not just in cricket, but also off the field.
“So that makes a difference in environments like that. I could just kind of be myself and play cricket more freely. Obviously, there's still nerves because I want to do well and I want to make an impact.
“I trust the selectors. Obviously, it's a big year coming up in terms of series and the (T20) World Cup and stuff. And yeah, I mean, I always have honest chats with the selectors, which I appreciate. So, I think I just need to sort of be more comfortable within my own game when I play international cricket, rather than, like I said, trying to reinvent the wheel.”
The 27-year-old, who made her international debut all the way back in 2018 already, believes she is much more mature now to cope with the emotional rollercoaster that is international cricket.
“I think it's more just a mindset thing and realising that the game only really changes if you change it,” she said.
“Yes, there's a different standard, there's more consistency and stuff, but I need to trust that my brand of cricket can fit into international cricket and really sort of back that rather than trying to reinvent the wheel every time I get to the international stage.
“And just trust that what I've been doing domestically has been working and hopefully that can sort of slot into the international stage as well. It's just about putting less pressure on myself.”
Tunnicliffe is therefore fully committed to helping Province defend their Pro20 title and claim the 50-over championship that eluded them last season.
“I want to make it happen for the team. But I'm just really looking forward to the weekend,” she said.
“It'll be nice to play some provincial cricket with, like, what feels like more on the line. Because obviously, we've had a really good season. So, previously, it was sort of like, okay, well, we won enough games to win the trophy.
“But now it's like, you know, we won a lot of games, but now there's like something on the line.”