SuperSport’s Rea Naketsana reflects on her trailblazing career behind the camera

As the 2024 Proteas Women successful calendar year comes to an end, the focus on women in cricket has captivated the nation’s attention.

Whilst Laura Wolvaardt, Tazmin Brits and Nonkululeko Mlaba have rightfully received many plaudits for their exploits, there are other women in cricket who have played a vital role in the sport’s continuous growth behind the lens.

Mlaba does her talking on the pitch, but Matatiele native and SuperSport cricket producer Rea Naketsana does hers in the studio. But it wasn’t smooth sailing right off the bat.

“When I came in, it was a completely different world, a world I didn’t know I wanted to be a part of. But you know what it is, you get the internship and do it,” Naketsana reflects on her humble beginnings as production assistant through the SuperSport internship.

BROTHER’S INFLUENCE

Thanks to a departmental rotation, she was able to gain a lot of different experiences but somehow, through divine intervention, she landed in the cricket department.

Her late brother had recently passed just before she made the momentous switch, but she believes his love for cricket steered her to the game from the other side.

She joined a department, to her one colleague’s admission, that was male dominated. But they were willing to help and equip her with the skills to become the seasoned professional she is today.

“It was difficult to find my feet in conversations and contributing”, she introspects. “That was my biggest challenge…being able to find my space uniquely so”. 

However, the imposter syndrome did not win and now she boasts 12 years of experience in a highly specialized role as a cricket producer.

‘WE TELL STORIES’

“Once I understood the cricket, I started falling in love with my job because that made it easier for me. I started understanding what the key things as a cricket producer are that you need to be looking at – it’s a lot of storytelling.”

Nothing comes easy in any profession and Nakatsana was not spared the catch 22 fielded at her. Immersed in her pursuit of and eventual specialization, it saw her miss out on family events and other personal moments that make life that much sweeter.

Never one not to aim for the grandstands even when life bowls one with top spin at her, she’s learnt her lessons and thrived.

“I learnt that the lesson here is not that my work is difficult – it’s me, how am I approaching my work. Until I stopped looking at it as a career but started seeing it as me doing something that I love. My work-life balance is so much better now.”

Lessons learnt and stripes earned, Rea Naketsane has craft fully carved a unique place for herself in cricket producing history. Not just as a woman, but a capable and world class cricket producer. She is a great testimony of how SuperSport is truly #HereForHer.