Kass Naidoo was just a teenager when she heard her destiny calling. She was walking past the TV set when a voice stopped her in her tracks. It was warm and authoritative, and carried the lilt of the Caribbean in its tone.
The speaker was a cricket commentator from the West Indies, but with one big difference: she was a woman. Right there and then, Kass said to her mom: “That’s it. I’m going to become South Africa’s first woman cricket commentator.”
Less than a decade later, after a solid grounding in print journalism and radio production, Kass made her dream come true, as she made her debut in the commentary box at the 2003 Cricket World Cup. Of course, it wasn’t so much a dream as a defiant plan of action, which Kass brought to life by sharpening her skills and knowledge, learning from colleagues and mentors, and refusing to let negative criticism get her down.
“I was so driven to prove everybody wrong,” she says, thinking back to the scepticism, bemusement, and outright derision from some quarters, at the very thought of a woman stepping into a traditionally male sporting role. But Kass hit that glass ceiling for a six, shattering boundaries and establishing herself as someone worth listening to, in any capacity. She sat down with Ruda to chat about change, cricket, motherhood, and the challenges and joys of living a life where “all my surprises are planned”.
Transcript:
R: Hello, and a very warm welcome to another session of the Change Exchange, where we talk about the moments in life that change you, and change your life. And with me, Kass Naidoo. A sports commentator on sports television and radio and mum of three. That sets up a life of changes!
K: It certainly does, and it has been a life of change. Certainly. It’s good to be with you.
R: What did you want to be when you were little?
K: Well, at the age of 14 I walked past the TV and I heard a West Indian woman commentate on cricket, and I found myself glued to the television screen for, like, six hours. And I turned to my mom and I said: “That’s it! I’m going to become South Africa’s first female cricket commentator.”
R: Okay!
K: Yes, so it was … Before that there was absolutely nothing kind of keeping me on the straight and narrow, and as soon as I hit that button and I knew what it was, I worked non-stop for over a decade, and as they say – when you’re ready things kind of pop into your life, and Gerald de Kock resigned from SABC and they needed a presenter to host the Cricket World Cup in 2003. So I debuted in the 2003 Cricket World Cup.
R: That’s quite a big step up? But before that, you started in print?
K: I started … Good, I have a motto … That I take the long road in everything I do. So I knew when I left my studies at tech, that having not played the game, I needed to get credibility. So I built a very solid foundation. And the first thing to do was to become a good journalist. So I went to the Mercury and I started as a vacation reporter and I thought I’d have an easy life on the beach, but my first story was a murder on the Durban Beach Front, which meant accuracy was so important. And I worked as a court and crime reporter …
R: And writing for a newspaper teaches you to write.
K: Yes.
R: Teaches you to put the right words, one behind the other.
K: Ja. I once got a call from a magistrate to say that I got the information wrong, and I never got a call like that again, because I double check and triple check everything. But after a while at the Mercury and Daily News I said: “Guys, I actually really want to be a commentator, so I’m going to leave and go to Johannesburg to follow my dreams and see what happens.”
R: Did you have a job up here?
K: No, I didn’t have a job. I went for an interview at the South African Press Association and they said: “Come back, maybe we can use you.”
R: We’ll call you?
K: We’ll call you, but I went to Johannesburg and I took up a position at the South African Press Association and I covered the 1999 General Elections. So I did everything from court, to crime, to politics, education … And I finally got to 702 after six months at Sapa, as John Robbie’s producer. And he encouraged me. He said: “Go for it. Just become really good at what you do. There’s no room for making mistakes here – this is a shot of a lifetime if you get it.”
R: And because you are the first woman, people will be watching, and waiting for you to trip up.
K: Absolutely. So I worked hard at 702 and being a good producer would take me to the next level. But you reach that glass ceiling where you know it’s not really going where you need to go, so I resigned and I went to SABC and became a producer, and I produced Khanyi Dhlomo’s News at 7, the sport bulletins and all the news stories. And I learned how to edit – stuff I didn’t think I needed to know. And then Robert Marawa bumped into me in the news room and he said: “Aren’t you the girl that wants to be a commentator?” Because naturally I told everyone I wanted to hear it. And he said: “You’re in the wrong building. I need to take you over to Sport – they need to meet you.” So long story short – Martin Locke trained me, and he said: “You won’t make it. Just so you know. You will be average, satisfactory at best, but you’ve never played the game, so you won’t make it.” So I drove home that day, crying, thinking that’s it. The end of my dream. My brother said: “But you’re a Capricorn. You never listen to anybody! Why are you listening to this guy? You’ve done this for 11 years, you’ve worked so hard. So pull your socks up and move on!”
R: Can I, just have a little sidebar there? Why do we take on negative stuff so easily?
K: And not the positive stuff?
R: And we disregard the positive as ‘that’s the way it should be’. But someone says something negative, then you kind of haggard yourself and you live with it?
K: Only quite recently did I realise that it’s a very bad habit. And that actually, why be modest? Rather just accept the good stuff. We accept so much of the negative stuff, and in the end we become it because we think so much of it and we are so much of it. So I forgot about Martin Locke and decided well, actually, I really want to do this. So I kept training myself and …
R: How did you do that?
K: I watched a lot of cricket, I talked a lot of cricket … Everyone at home allowed me to talk about cricket. But mostly I was so driven to prove everybody wrong, there was no way that I was not going to do it.
R: And there was never a moment while you were doing politics or you were doing other things that you thought, well, maybe being a more generalist journalist might be more interesting? You had your eye focused on this ball and this was the one you wanted to hit?
K: Yes, I was so obsessed – I still am! Even when I take a break from cricket, I watch cricket. So I’m properly obsessed and I remember every day I tried to learn something new. And then I thought well, nothing’s going to happen. So I thought I was going to shave my head. So I shaved my head in November 2002. And two weeks later I got a call to say I’m hosting the Cricket World Cup in February 2003. I did not intend to be a skinhead with my debut on TV, so I very quickly tried to grow my hair into a very short style. So everybody thought that that was who she should be.
R: You were making a statement?
K: I was, and I was just trying to get some hair on my head.
R: Tell me about the first day? Finally? In front of that camera, and in the box … Or where were you?
K: So the first day I thought I was hosting the first match, but actually they needed me to host the breakfast show. The first show of the Cricket World Cup. And as I was sitting there, reading the autocue, it flipped out of control and that was the end of the autocue for my career, and I decided I will not use an autocue.
R: You are not bent on it?
K: Absolutely not. And I like being natural and I like talking, so as I sat there, I decided just to talk. So I don’t use an autocue and never did. And when I sat there I realised I didn’t really want to be a presenter. It wasn’t a thing. I practiced with a brush in my hand … I wanted to be a commentator. So the presenting was something new that I needed to get into, and I loved the World Cup. And they said you will get a few games, but you won’t get the final, because we’ve got a very experienced man, and he’s the only one to cover the final. So I said: “No worries.” And half way through the World Cup they said: “Actually, we’re doubling the number of matches you have and you’ve got the final.”
R: Oh man!
K: So I was like …
R: What was that like?
K: Amazing. Because still, people love seeing a woman on the World Cup, but there were people who were not so happy. And it got to me, as it does. Brand new in the industry. And then my brother taught me a very nice trick – he said go on to Google, and Google yourself, read all the stuff, take what works for you and toss what doesn’t. And it was the early days of Google, so I found blogs over the years that had good things and had bad things to say, but I never see things as bad. I always see them as learning. Everyone sees life differently, and sometimes we may not see the things that need to be rectified. Or sometimes we don’t appreciate the good work we do. So I’ve learned to take feedback over the last decade and it served me well.
R: But what I’m also hearing you say to young people who may be thinking: “I want to be like that.” We’ve all come across that – I want to do what you do. Is learn. Take every step you can along the way – even if it seems at that moment that not to be leading directly to where you want to be?
K: Absolutely – you’re spot on. Because my life is a life of learning. Every single day I try and pick up something, something new. My husband records all my broadcasts, so when I get home I make a very strong cup of coffee and I go through … And I hate watching myself, but I realised that if I don’t … The little things we do … It actually irritates the viewer. 75 present of what viewers experience is what they see. So little hairs out of place …
R: Licking your lips, swaying your hands …
K: Play with a pen … Silly things like that … Or wearing the wrong shade of lipstick, which mostly the men viewers then send me Facebook messages: “I really like you, but it’s the wrong shade of lipstick.” I allow people to.
R: But surely you don’t change your lipstick every time you get a message about it?
K: No, but I did on that day, because I did think it wasn’t the right shade when I got on air, and then, when I got that message … I always, like … I have a very good and strong relationship with the social media followers on my various accounts, and generally they are well-managed, and when they’re not, they are put in their place firmly. But I like feedback, and I think we can only grow from it. And if it’s all about compliments and everyone loves us and it’s all lovely and … We’ll never grow.
R: But it’s interesting, that relationship with your audience, because that is such an important thing, because you need to be, literally, on the same wavelength.
K: You do, and I … When I’m in the commentary box, I generally … I refer to their tweets and I ask questions to the commentators. I keep them very involved. I keep them as the fan commentator because I think it’s important. And the kind of audience that we go out to … They’re football fans, rugby fans, people who don’t even like sport. And how do you make everybody feel comfortable? That was the first reason why I fell in love with the sport. I was never interested in cricket, but here was a woman talking in the most powerful way to me. I felt like she was talking directly to me and I wanted to be that for South Africa. And it was at a time where unity had just got into cricket, but we were still finding ourselves. So I like seeing myself as the goo. I like keeping people together in cricket.
R: You worked for Cricket South Africa. How did you experience that?
K: It was amazing. It was an incredible … I don’t think if I went to study for a business degree, that I would have come back with the kind of experiences that I did from there. Having worked as a commentator for the number of years that I did … When I got to CSA in 2008, what a great opportunity to learn how to run an organisation, to put on a cricket match. What happens all around that game, and now when I commentate, I have the most incredible insight and I surprise myself by the things that I’ve picked up. It was a hard learning at the same time, because I was the first woman to be a commercial manager at Cricket South Africa. One of the things that was said: “She has to be upskilled, you’ve got to give her all the knowledge and training.” And it never happened, so I taught myself and I learned along the way. And one of the biggest things that I hope that I achieved was to, like African women, is to ensure they have a firm voice and a firm say, and it happens at CSA and they’re all still there. So I’m really, really proud of that. I think it’s important that women stand by each other and help each other up, because it’s a lonely place up there and you do need support and you do need that camaraderie.
R: How did you experience being a woman in what is so much a man’s world?
K: I think it would have been different if I had tried to compete with men. But I don’t compete at all. I compete with myself and I celebrate being a woman. I remember one day, I was sitting in the commentary box, reading by Vogue magazine, I was filing my nails, I had a yellow T-shirt on and a commentator walked past and he said: “What has this become?” And I said: “A beauty salon.” And I think from that perspective, everyone just allowed me to be me. I got a lot of criticism in the early years from women who felt that “we’re not sure that we can take you seriously”. The men on the other hand would be “this is quite interesting”. “She has a view. Who is telling her to say that?” A lot of people asked me in the early years. “Are they telling you what to say in your earpiece?” And I’d say: “I wish they were, but they aren’t.” So I think, ja, it’s been such an interesting journey for me, that I feel I’ve only just started. And it’s been 20 years since I really got my foot in the door, and now, in 2016, I feel a level of comfort in what I do.
R: You also started an online … Almost in the same vein, a kind of online support for girls. What do you call it?
K: G Sport for girls.
R: Online platform that profiles women and hosts an annual awards ceremony. Why did you begin that?
K: I was hosting a radio show at SAFM at the time in 2003, 2006, and every woman I interviewed had a sad story of lack of support, nobody gives them time, they can’t grow their brands and so my husband and I took a long walk one day, an 8 km walk, and on this walk I said we will find a way for women’s sport going forward on this walk. We’re going to come out with an idea. He’s a lawyer, with a firm interest in IT, and I’m a journalist, and at the end of the walk we came up with an idea that we’re going to launch an online initiative to tell the story of women’s sport in South Africa.
R: And? How has it worked?
K: The first few years were horrible, because the federations felt like we were policing them. “Why are you calling? We don’t have a women’s department. There isn’t a women’s officer. I don’t have her number.” And so we wrote all the stories, we did everything ourselves, and 11 years later, really glad to see the support from around the country. People have taken ownership in G Sport, and the more they tell stories, the more they realise that they can build their personal brands.
R: Are you a person who makes plans, or do you walk along and a door opens?
K: I live in the moment, and very present. But I like planning to make sure, as a good Capricorn, that all my surprises are planned and I’m ready when things happen. But I’m a mom of three, so I’m very aware that certain times I can’t go on tour, or I’ve got to miss something because it’s Ella’s concert or Danny needs something from a cricket perspective, so I try and live my life in harmony. And at any different stage in my life, something will take preference over the other. And it very much depends on what’s the most important at the time.
R: How do you strive for that harmony? What do you do? Do you do yoga? Do you do meditation?
K: None of that. I have absolutely no time. My exercise is running after Luke, who is about to turn three – that’s about as good as it gets. I’m happy to fall off the bike – I think that’s how I find harmony. When you try so hard to stay on, you will fall and you won’t accept it. I accept what happens. I think it’s important that we don’t know how things should be. Also working in a male dominated environment – there are different challenges in different parts of the year, different times of the year. So I love being a mom, I come home, I cook a curry, I bake bread … After a test match I just want to get back to being me.
R: How did you meet your husband? You’ve been together, what?
K: We’ve been together 18 …
R: 18 years.
K: Ja. We’ve been married 12 years.
R: How did you meet him? How did you know he was the one?
K: He was my brother’s friend. They were both extremely annoying … I was an art student and they would be in the lounge, just annoying me. And we became friends in 1996, started dating in 1998, with absolutely no interest in getting married or having children, which was great for me. Because I just wanted to be a commentator and he was cool with that. We moved to Johannesburg … At some stage we just thought: “Let’s get married.” Because our parents were looking at us with that: “What are they actually doing? Is this something that’s going to happen soon?” We got married in 2004, and …
R: First tell me why it works?
K: It works because we love each other. And we really support each other. And there’s an element of “it’s okay”.
R: Acceptance?
K: Ja, if something happens, it’s okay. We’re learning together. We parent together. So from the first child I had, I tried to have a water birth with the first baby, and it didn’t happen until the third, but Ryk was there every step of the way. We went to antenatal classes all three times. He was ready to deliver all three children … We work so well together. We finish each other’s sentences, we are just made for each other, I think.
R: And the kids? How did they change your life? You said in the beginning you didn’t plan to have one child, even? Nevermind three?
K: When I decided to leave commentary to become a mom, I realised I was 29, and things were happening very quickly. And I needed to just calm down, and I thought I didn’t really want to be a 55-year-old commentator wishing she had had kids, so after we had the first child …
R: So that was a conscious decision?
K: Very much so.
R: You left your career …
K: It was a hard thing to do. Wow, it was the hardest thing I’ve done in my life. The greatest thing you’ve wanted all your life, to walk away from it. But now I’ve realised, if you love something that much, you can leave it.
R: Why?
K: You’re not leaving it forever. You can leave it. If it’s meant to come back to you, it will. So I took eight years off from the game, I had three children, and they’ve been amazing. My biggest learnings, teachers, everything I know about myself right now has come from what I’ve learned from them.
R: Why do you say that?
K: Because they’re free. They’re free with love. They’re free with everything, and they’re right here. They don’t think about things, they don’t worry. They just want to be happy. They love life. So, I’m a net-bowler at home. I’m not the umpire. Because Danny smacks that ball. So I bowl a lot at home, I make Elsa plaits for Ella, there are things that I never thought I would do, and the softer I become, the more focused I become. I feel that I don’t have anything to prove – not to them at all. So eight years later, I am back at the SABC and I’ve got an opportunity to host cricket again at my fourth Cricket World Cup. I and I ask them why, why am I back? And they said: “Why, we still think you’re fresh.” And I thought that was great.
R: That’s a wonderful compliment.
K: Yes, I expected someone to take my chair. I wanted someone to, because I thought that …
R: Well, someone was in that chair for eight years. Well, different someones.
K: And, so when I sat in that chair in 2015 for the World Cup, it was for the first time ever that I felt so confident and I felt like I belonged. And I remember coming home after the first game, and I said to Ryk: “I’m loving it!” And it was such a great feeling, because to have done it for such a long time, and I always go … My journey goes back to the age of 14 … So that’s how long I feel I’ve done it. I’m 38 now. I should be bored, right? I should be tired of it. I’m not. I get excited all the time. So Daniel is the commentator while I cook, and he’s: “There’s a wicket! Oh mom, it’s Faf!” And then we’ve got to get to the lounge and he tells me exactly what happens. That’s how I’m trying to teach him, that he can tell me what happened. When he’s playing the game, he will know what to do. So I absolutely love my life.
R: That is such a wonderful thing! So tell me about the home you make this life in? Where is it? How did you choose it?
K: We live in Killarney. We live in a lovely flat there, it’s a great lock up and go. I sometimes come home at midnight, at two in the morning … It’s a great community. When we moved in there, we were some of the youngest people. And now it’s full of young families, so we’re often in the park, we often play there. We hike, we are outdoorsy people, but we also watch a lot of sport. It’s pretty much what we do. Formula 1, cricket, rugby – everything that’s on TV, we watch.
R: So what made you choose that home?
K: Well, when we were looking – a long time ago – and we’ve had this home for over a decade – it was just the nicest area. Old buildings, high ceilings, and between three and five everybody sleeps. It’s really nice. It’s quiet. And the first few months we kind of looked at each other and asked “why is this place so quiet?” Then we realised they have these curfews. People didn’t swim at that time, so it’s just …
R: Siesta.
K: It’s a great atmosphere. We love it. We stayed for a few years in Sandton and I didn’t like it at all. Because I felt like I stayed where I worked, and Killarney is just a kind of gentle lifestyle.
R: Is there something physical that you take to everywhere you live? A picture that you’re hanging up first, or a book case that you set up or something? No, in your case it won’t be books …
K: Probably photos. I love photos, I love the photos of our family and we’ve got many around the house. Interesting enough we have one of Daniel and Ryk and I, it was our first portrait, and … Luke insists it’s him. The other day I had to take him across and show him and there’s a whole lot of pictures that lead up to that picture to show him it was Daniel, and now he reminds me, actually, it’s Daniel. “It’s not me.” I love photos, I think it just reminds us of the most incredible moments of our lives, particularly the birth photos. The time that the kids were born. It’s just very special.
R: Kass, thank you so much, and all of the very best.
K: Thank you so much.
R: It was so good to get to know you.
K: Lovely to be here, thank you.
R: Until next time, go well.
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