Since her first appearance at the inaugural ICC U19 World Cup as a 15-year-old, Karabo Meso has carried a weight of expectation on her slight shoulders.
It was always a matter of when, not if, she would play for the senior Proteas Women’s side. This moment came in 2024, when Meso was still only 16 years and 194 days old — the youngest wicketkeeper ever to earn a senior Proteas Women's cap.
She later claimed her call-up "felt like a movie". Unfortunately, the script has not played out like a fairytale since, with the teenager being afforded limited opportunities due to Sinalo Jafta's presence behind the stumps. But as the saying goes, good things come to those who wait, and Meso has jumped on the chance to get an extended run on the current Zimbabwe tour after Jafta withdrew due to injury.
The 18-year-old presented herself at the crease on Tuesday in the third T20I in Bulawayo as if the territory were hers and she would be dominating it for some years to come. Meso struck an unbeaten 50 (five fours, one six) and shared a 173-run partnership with captain Laura Wolvaardt for the second wicket.
"It still feels surreal. Whenever I think about it, I get goosebumps. I think everybody saw that when I hit the boundary, I got goosebumps," Meso said. "It really feels special for me and for the team."
Meso admits that she has needed to put the hard yards in behind the scenes since stepping up to the senior ranks.
"I've been working hard with my batting for the past year," she said. "It feels really special that all the hard work I'm putting in is showing in the middle."
It was certainly beneficial to have Wolvaardt at the other end during the partnership, with the skipper playing a critical role in keeping the youngster calm at the crease.
"I've been on a lot of tours and put so much pressure on myself, you know," Meso said. "Today was just about being myself, just playing cricket, watching the ball and hitting the ball.
"It's always nice to play with Laura, even in nets. And in the past series, and then Ireland series back home, she's just told us to be ourselves. She just said we shouldn't try so hard. She just told me, just play nice and straight and play to your strength. And then I was like, 'okay, I got this.'"
Unfortunately, there was a bitter end to the day for Meso as she suffered a groin strain whilst keeping, with fellow teenager Jae-Leigh Filander replacing her behind the stumps. But despite being in tears when the incident happened, Meso claims she should be ready to take her place for the fourth match of the series on Thursday (1.30pm start).
"Oh, definitely, it was just the pain. I don't like getting pain, and so it was just overreacting, but I'll be fine, I am fine," she said.