Two century milestones just another passage for Tyron

The Proteas all-rounder was just a 16-year-old pupil at Scottburgh High School in Durban at the time and was thrust into the spotlight of an ICC T20 World Cup clash against the hosts West Indies in St Kitts and Nevis.

“My dad had given me a big lecture before the game. He was on my case, and told me to make sure I was hitting the stumps,” said Tryon, who still bowled left-arm medium pace back then.

“I was running in and thinking, please pitch the ball, and let it not go down the leg side for a wide!”

Beyond her wildest dreams Tryon actually claimed a wicket on her very first ball, with West Indies opener Stafanie Taylor caught by Alicia Smith, setting off wild celebrations within the Proteas camp.

With the nerves settled, Tryon developed into a Proteas stalwart who has enjoyed a stellar international career spanning the past 14 years. After playing her 100th ODI earlier this year in Australia, Tryon reached another prestigious milestone on the recently-concluded tour of Pakistan by celebrating a century of T20I caps in the first match of the series.

“It’s been an amazing journey. Making my debut in 2010, I never expected that the journey would be this long. The game has changed so much,” Tryon said.

“It’s been a great honour. I always wanted to represent my country, and to have the platform where I could inspire young girls has always been something for me.”

The journey has not been without its pitfalls though. Tryon has suffered numerous setbacks at critical junctures in her career. Injuries ranging from back ailments to groin problems has seen Tryon miss a number of series for the Proteas over the years.

The impact has been significant on the hard-hitting all-rounder as she has often been forced to start from scratch just when approaching her best form. Equally, it has put a major physical strain on her body in terms of the recovery process, while the mental aspect has also been significant, with Tryon constantly feeling that she is having to restart her career.

Now 30, Tryon is in a much better space to appreciate all the trials and tribulations she’s encountered.

“Look, it’s been really tough. I think my family’s seen me go through quite a lot. I think they’ve actually helped me through so much,” she said.

“My dad always told me when I was younger I was going to be accident prone and I think he spoke it into existence.

“It affected me when I was younger. It really did. It’s really tough to be at the top of your performance and the peak of your career. And then, you know, getting taken back by injury.

“Then you still have to come back and know that there’s expectation; you need to perform and you kind of don’t know... you’ve been out for a couple of months and it’s almost kind of trying to find your groove again.

“But I think I’ve learned to be a lot more mentally strong and just narrow down and like making sure I’m in a good space mentally, which really has helped me get back from an injury and still be able to peak when I need to.

“I think the mental side has played a big part in me, to make me more mentally strong.”

Despite these fitness challenges, Tryon remains one of the most sought after cricketers on the women’s T20 franchise circuit. She has just returned from playing in the Caribbean Premier League and The Hundred for the Guyana Amazon Warriors and Southern Brave respectively.

Tryon also has Women’s Big Bash experience in Australia, and is a pivotal member of the Mumbai Indians’ WPL squad.

She feels exposure to these high-profile leagues has helped her stay abreast with the fast-moving changes in the global women’s game.

“I think making a score in the region of 110 about 10 years ago was a winning score in the women’s game. I think the skill wasn’t anywhere close to what it is now.

“If you looked at players and how they played, you probably had one shot in your book that you played and now if you look at the game and how it’s evolved and the skill that players have shown, they’re kind of playing 360 degrees and we always feel now, as bowlers, four fielders is not enough on the boundary.

“It helps a lot (playing in the leagues). You know, you get to work with different coaches, you get to play alongside some of those players that you’re going to be playing against soon as well.

“It’s always nice to learn a lot from them. I think different coaches have different styles and something might actually work for you that you might have not picked up anywhere else. I feel like it’s been really good for me.”

All of this has set Tryon up for another crack at success with the Proteas at a major international tournament, with the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup set to get underway in the UAE early next month.

She remembers vividly the disappointment of walking back to the Members Pavillion in the T20 World Cup final at Newlands last year, knowing that she was probably taking the Proteas’ chances of lifting the trophy with her.

But although the Proteas were not able to cross the last hurdle against the all-conquering Australian side last year, she feels that having now experienced the grand final, the team will be ready to go one step further in the UAE.

“Definitely making the final at Newlands, playing in front of a capacity crowd… obviously we never got over the line, but I think that’s a really big achievement for us. We just know that our stepping blocks are working and we're getting closer to touching the trophy, but it’s definitely been a big highlight playing in our backyard, and having so much support has made us really proud.

“Now I feel like we’ve had key moments where we felt like we were under pressure, where we let it go, and I feel the top teams thrive under pressure, and I feel like we haven’t really dealt with the pressure in the right way.

“It’s the small margins, if you can say that, I think with bat and ball. I always say the team that handles the pressure the best on the day will win the game and I feel like those key moments in the game, we need to really be up on our game and making sure that we are up for the challenge.

“I feel if we can look after that, we can win any game. It’s about making sure that in those key moments we are up for the challenge.”