23 August, 2024

Schoolgirl spinning star secures Hearts contract

Top performer… Rishika Jaswal holding TGS’s trophy for winning the Auckland National Qualifying Girls tournament last season.

Takapuna Grammar School (TGS) cricketer Rishika Jaswal has won herself a contract with Auckland’s senior representative women’s side for the coming premier domestic competition.
The 17-year-old leg-spinner has been a star for TGS’s girls’ first XI side, winning joint player of the tournament at last year’s Gillette Venus Cup, the national secondary school T20 competition.
She took nine wickets, the joint highest tally in the tournament, at an average of eight runs per wicket, and averaged 40 with the bat.
TGS first XI coach Johan Kirstein said Rishika’s “natural talent” and potential had been clear since she started at the school..
That, partnered with a dedicated mindset and a determination to work hard, had helped take her to the contract with the Auckland Hearts.
Rishika broke into the side as an uncontracted player last season, making seven appearances in the 50-over domestic competition and debuting in the Super Smash 20-over competition.
Kirstein said she had been exceptional since she joined the first XI in Year 9. Her ability to spin the ball consistently “almost makes her unplayable,” he said.
Opposition players tended to respect her, meaning they played more defensively. “And if you don’t get any runs off 24 balls in a T20, you’re in trouble.”
Many of the first XI players saw her as an inspiration when she played for the Hearts last season, Kirstein said.

• TGS alumnus Anna Browning, who played for the Hearts last year, has signed a contract with Otago for the 2024/25 season.