"“I grew up in a lovely home with parents who gave me the freedom to explore the sports that I wanted."

Getting to know new Titans signing, Musa Twala.

The beginning of a new season often marks the beginning of a new chapter for some players and a move to the Titans from Eastern Storm is exactly that for Musa, the beginning of a new chapter in division 1. The call from Titans coach may have come as a surprise to Musa but he is ready to work hard and make the most of it. He had set his eyes on trying to establish himself in division 2 and look to impress and attract a division 1 side. Christmas then decided to come earlier for him.

Musawenkosi Siyabonga Twala was born in Glenwood Hospital in Benoni on the 12th of July 2000 and was raised in Dawn Park until he was about 13 years old. His family then moved around and stayed in different areas of East Rand until he moved to Pretoria upon being offered a cricket scholarship to St Albans College in Pretoria. Musa, 1 of 3 children says he was one of those children who simply enjoyed being outside playing for as long as they could and coming home late even though he knew it would get him into trouble. “I knew I had to get back quickly or else I would get a hiding.” Definitely something most of us can relate to from childhood. Musa spent most of his childhood days in Dawn Park. Growing up in an environment where he never felt boxed or restricted in terms of sports he played was crucial for Musa and his journey in sport that finally led him to cricket. “I grew up in a lovely home with parents who gave me the freedom to explore the sports that I wanted, and I was never placed into a mould. Through that I managed to find cricket when my friend taught it to me.”

Unlike many Professional cricketers, Musa’s story with cricket is a bit different. Most cricketers either fell in love with cricket at School, at home because someone played it or through Mini cricket. However, Musa fell in love with cricket after one of his older friends introduced him to it. At the age of 7, Musa was being taught cricket by his friend and as time went on, “we initially started playing in the backyard and from there it grew into a sport that I play till today”. It is always interesting how something can start so small into something big one day. I am sure if anyone told Musa and his friend that one day, Musa would play cricket for a living, they would have both burst into laughter in disbelief. From the backyard, Musa’s journey progressed as he grew, and he went on to develop his cricket at Easterns until he got that scholarship that also led him to playing Coke Week for Northerns in 2018.

In November 2021, Musa played a wonderful knock scoring 124 off 245 balls against Limpopo in a Division 2, 4-day match. It was week two of matches and Musa showed glimpses of what he can do with the bat. His ability to knock the ball around, play the ball late and putting the bad balls away is definitely something commendable. He also showed great skill against spin. Musa took me through what was going on through his mind at the time,” On the day I was able to keep things simple everything felt good, from my movements and head. The situation was that we lost early two wickets and I walked in with the responsibility, and I felt it was up to me to ensure we get out of the mess but up till that point the preparation with the Easterns side had been good and lots of work had been put in behind the scenes. All that was going through my mind was that I am finally displaying what it is that I am capable off.”

Although, Musa is primarily a Wicket keeper batter, I had been wondering how he must have been feeling being used as more of a specialist batter than a keeper. It turns out that it is not something that he loses sleep over as he does not prefer one over the other. He is willing to do both or do either or, it all depends on what the team needs from him. His approach is quite simple. He explains, “I do not have a preference since, I had begun keeping I have always known that Both are equally important. It gave me the chance to ensure I could always stay in the game and my day was not over.”

Musa believes that the more you play as a player is the more you improve. He also believes that staying fit is what gives you a better chance of playing more. Speaking about what his biggest challenge has been so far, he explains the importance of staying fit. He says injuries have been the biggest challenge for him so far and he tries as much as he can to take care of his body. “. I always ensure that I manage my body well, in the previous season injuries resulted in me missing out on the CSA T20 knockout cup and it is something as an athlete I feel I need to manage well, and I am learning as I train.”

The 22-year-old is not just young in terms of age but in terms of cricket playing experience, so he is still learning a bit. He is in fact, learning on the job. Almost like playing in unfamiliar conditions for the first time ever, you constantly have to adjust based on your reading of what the ball is doing. Musa’s biggest lesson so far, “The biggest lesson learnt so far would be the importance of adapting to a team environment and its always important to serve teammates to ensure that you’re adding value on and off the field.” This is a great lesson for any 22-year-old to have learnt because who knows where he might be next year or a few years later? Remember, even being picked into the Proteas side would still require him to look back at this lesson and apply it.

Anyone who has been part of any form of Week can attest to the fact that apart from the actual sport, there is always something else to take out of being part of a week. Musa speaks about his experience at Coke Week 2018. “It was an eye opener for me as to how far my game still had to grow and develop and that it was a privilege to be among the best players, learning from a young age, it opened the doors to friendships that I still hold till today” The kind of friendships made during such occasions sometimes turn out to be the longest of all friendships as some still get to meet whether when playing against each other or in the same team.

There are often debates and or arguments around the modern wicketkeeper and modern wicket keeping as a whole. Musa has his say. “The modern keeper is often forced into the role, with the player having to fill the role as he offers more with the bat than the gloves. Keeping is an art that requires a lot of training just as a batter would spend hours ensuring he executes his shots according to his game plan. Keeping is tough however, we are fortunate because one missed chance always comes with another opportunity to redeem yourself. I was told by A coach that the best keepers are the ones that you do not recognize on the field, they execute their skill seamlessly.”

The new Titans signings is ready to kick things off this season at his new home. He played his high school cricket in Pretoria, so he is no stranger to the city. Also having been coached by Coach Richard das Neves at Easterns in the old structure, Musa might just find it easier to adjust at Titans. It should be exciting to see how he develops in a Titans environment with so much quality and such lofty standards.