Sinalo Jafta

"I was there to save my life, and that was my mentality."

"Whether I was happy or sad, whatever emotion I had, I would just drink on."

"I was in such a bad place that I didn't care what happened to me."

"I felt like I was drinking to die because I had nothing left to give."

"Some people think that going to rehab is the final straw, that it's the end. But it's not, it's the beginning - and the acceptance of that was the start of something very beautiful for me."

"I am still alive, I am sober and I am grateful. It has taught me to take each day as it comes and not to worry about tomorrow."

"I have got a lot more to give."

"I am going to wear this, I am going to go to bed with it, I am going to shower with it, because this wasn't even possible for me. This is probably my gold…. for now."

"I was walking away from cricket."

"I went to rehab and now to play the final four months afterwards, it's pretty emotional."

"Social media doesn't support you. You have a really tough day and people just bullet you on social media. That sent me over the edge. It just wouldn't stop."

"People are allowed to have their opinions but it doesn't define who I am. I am forever grateful for that."

"The one thing I learnt in the time off is that it was always a behaviour thing. I must be the same person on the field as I am off the field."

"Cricket is a game where you wake up and you have another day."

"entered rehab and that humbled me, but I still didn't admit that I was an alcoholic. At that point I realised that if I lose my cricket career, so be it ... It was my life that I was trying to get back. Whether I had a career coming back, it didn't matter."

"No-one turned their backs on me during my struggles. I'm no longer playing for myself like before because it was always about me, now it is about how I get better for the team."

"I'm not worried about what happens on the outside now, I'm more focused on getting the simple things right and looking at the package."

"I am my biggest critic, but in 2023 I learnt I have to fill in the work and everything will take care of itself."

"I don't see it as success. For me, it's literally just the 24 hours that is very important to me. And I think when I went into treatment, that was the one thing that I wasn't focused on. I was more focused on what I am doing outside of the game."

"You literally focus on that day because that's the most important."

"If I think too far ahead, I don't know whether relapse is coming tomorrow. But if I know that I'm sorting out what I'm meant to do today, I won't relapse tomorrow. It's more like a domino effect. And I think anyone that's going through anything with addiction or with sobriety in general, it's okay."

"I think if someone told me that it was okay and [if I had] asked for help, I think that's the biggest thing. There's nothing to be ashamed of because your story is not done yet."

"And I always think of life as chapters. It was just another chapter of my life. So now I'm looking forward to the rest."

"I always say I know a few people within cricket or football or whatever, where there is an element of struggling with addiction. And I think once you open yourself up as yourself, being sober, I kind of use it as a platform to say to someone: Hang on, you still have a chance."

"And I think that's what I've always tried to portray. Yes, you might have messed up somewhere, but that doesn't mean that it's the final story. I think if you put in the work, it will always multiply into something great."

"Yes, I think there's a really conscious mindset [now] because sometimes you won't understand why a player is going through such a ditch, but you don't know where that player is."

"And I think it's that, I'm not saying level of grace, but I think one has to step back and be like: Where I'm sitting, I've also struggled with something."

"And I think it's just awareness from everyone around, whether it's spectators, fans, coaches, players, and I think it's always just being vulnerable enough to say: Hang on, I'm struggling here."

"And I think it's just be open because you're helping the next person by you being open."

"Yes, I remember my mom used to be a big fan of Makhaya Ntini, and actually Ntini was the reason I started watching cricket."

"I want to also motivate young kids to take up the sport and I want to be a role model as well as a good individual."

"I would simply say, never give up, there is no shame in failing, but it is important how you pick yourself up after that."

"The person you get on the field is someone who gets on their knees every day. I am not in control of anything. God is always in control."

"I lost who I was."

"For me, a leader is always just someone that can obviously implement – and it's all about action, like I think their action and everything that they do."

"I've always had a positive approach in whatever situation I find myself. I tend to find that as soon as you go negative, immediately, people around you tend to be negative. So my focus is to just stay positive as long as possible."

"To lose like that, it does hurt. If it doesn't hurt, it doesn't mean anything. But no one game like this makes us a bad squad."