Beryl Lodewyk has been passionate about sports since childhood, attending cricket and rugby matches at Newlands Stadium in Cape Town with her father. By 2025, she has built an impressive broadcasting career, working with SuperSport, the Indian Premier League, and serving as a Director’s Assistant for several ICC World Cups.
Lodewyk shared how she, as she puts it, ‘became hooked’ on cricket, despite the segregation laws then in place in South Africa.
“Growing up in the years of apartheid, it was difficult to enjoy a good sporting event, as all non-whites were restricted to one certain area of the stadium, but we kept going because we were so hooked.”
International Sports Broadcast Production Specialist, Beryl Lodewyk
“Cricket was my absolute favourite sport, and we spent a lot of time at Newlands. I am Cape Town-born, and even though we moved around the country a lot, Newlands was still my ‘Happy Place’. My heroes back then were any player from Western Province; I was obsessed with them. I had many scrapbooks filled with pictures of the likes of Stephen Jefferies, Garth le Roux, Adrian Kuiper, the Kirsten brothers, and more.”
Her start in the broadcasting industry came during a temp job at one of the Multichoice companies, where she heard of an opening for a Marketing Assistant at SuperSport. And,‘The rest is history,’ says Lodewyk.
“I applied for the job, and unbelievably, I got it. I worked for the Marketing Director and PR Manager. This was in 1995, and for years, I felt like I was living in a dream. I had been working there for a few weeks, and one of my managers got a call from Gary Kirsten.”
“At the time, Gary was my ultimate hero. I was in such shock and disbelief, but that was when I realised that my biggest dream had come true: I would be working and getting to meet my heroes.”
From there, she moved onto the newly developed SuperSport website in 2000 and worked her way up to Cricket Manager. After that, I joined the production department in 2004, where I started as a production assistant, working on all sporting codes. She was then recognised for her cricket fanaticism and was promoted to an Assistant Producer on Cricket.
That developed into a Junior Producer position, and eventually she was appointed as Cricket Producer for many years, until she resigned from SuperSport in 2016 after a 21-year-long career.
In 2019, Lodewyk got back into broadcasting and started freelancing on broadcasts in many different countries, and, as part of the production team at the recently concluded Women’s Cricket World Cup, says the competition taught her that women’s cricket is now being valued, and she hopes to be part of more events like this one.
“Working at this Women’s Cricket World Cup I have learned that women’s cricket is being taken seriously. It took South Africa a while to establish a competitive women’s side, so for me the realisation that women’s cricket has been going for over 50 years was a pleasant surprise, and I hope I get many more opportunities to be involved”, she said.
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The Proteas Women’s historic World Cup campaign came to an end on Sunday, 2 November, when they lost to India in their first-ever 50-over World Cup final. Lodewyk says growing up in apartheid made her cherish her inclusion in this campaign even more.
“I was so proud of our Proteas ladies. What made our team even more special was the diversity and the unity inside this diverse team. As a child of the apartheid era, anything like this feels like a miracle for me. Nobody looks at colour anymore, just talent,” she said.
“I was blessed to work on the semi-final where the Proteas beat England, and I have to be honest, I expected a whipping, especially after their first match against England. But what a wonderful day it turned out to be, my entire crew felt happy for me, and never had I been more proud to be a South African.”
Lodewyk has done extensive work on the international front when it comes to women’s sport. Being able to witness how women’s sport has grown is a real privilege, she says.
“I was fortunate enough to work on the Netball World Cup that was hosted in South Africa in 2023. I was a freelancer for this production with SuperSport, and what made it special was that it was an all-women broadcast crew. It was a fantastic opportunity, and what a privilege it was to work with women only. It proved so much at the time and I was proud that in South Africa we were able to do that. From that opportunity, a lot of the broadcast ladies got exposure, and I hope that they were recognised as qualified broadcasters.”
“I also just returned from working on the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup. Seeing how well these women were performing was heartwarming. After years of battle to be recognised, it is now clear that women can perform just as well as men on the world stage.”
“I think my colleagues realised that I’m not just some girl who doesn’t know sport, but I actually knew more than most of them. So I did get the respect.”
With over two decades of experience in the industry, Lodewyk was one of the few women in sports broadcasting when she began her career. Although it was a very male-dominated environment at the time, she says she was respected by her co-workers.
“I don’t like to say that I was targeted as a woman in the industry, because I did get respect. But people would ask me why I would leave my dream job and not pursue higher positions. Unfortunately, I was overlooked for a senior position, and I don’t know if I was sidelined because I’m a woman, or if I just didn’t fit into the company’s future plans.”
“And I felt at the time that I had no future at SuperSport, and I decided to end my career there. I must admit, though, that it is frustrating that there are still so few women in the industry.”
“On freelance jobs, I am often one of just two or three women on a crew of up to 100 people.”
Despite facing challenges on the way, Lodewyk believes there has been a positive change for women in the industry, and says exposure is key to ensuring more women take up roles in sports media.
“I think the biggest improvement is the respect that women are getting now compared to years ago. Before, we were good enough to be secretaries and production coordinators, but women are being recognised as being skilled broadcasters.”
She urges women to make their move to join sports broadcasting in South Africa, as she believes there are many opportunities, while cautioning to do it for the right reasons.
“Now is the best time, especially in South Africa, to go into a sports broadcasting career. The opportunities are immense.”
However, don’t do it just to work in television, but do it for the love of sport. If you don’t like sports, you won’t enjoy working on them. Especially in cricket, which we all know can be a very long day. You have to love it to be able to get through a 10 to 12 hour day of broadcasting. And believe it or not, I love it!
Lodewyk says there are a few women in broadcasting that she considers role models.
“At the beginning of my career, I worked with Tinkie Pringle and Leigh-Ann Paulick, and I always admired how hard they worked to fit into the world of sport. They conducted their research and made an effort to increase their knowledge of the product, then portrayed the professionalism required for being on air and sharing that knowledge.”
“In recent years, I’ve worked with a lot of Kass Naidoo and Natalie Germanos, along with many other women cricket broadcasters, and I truly look up to all of them for their dedication and hard work to get where they are and going beyond. I love seeing our South African talent on the world stage, and I get very proud to say that I know them personally as well.”
While she might be coming to the end of her career, Lodewyk is still hopeful she can work on some big events before she finally calls time on her illustrious career.
“Well, as I’m reaching the twilight of my career, I would just like to enjoy being at matches. That is and will always be the most thrilling part of my work in broadcasting, being on the ground. And even if I don’t reach a senior role again, I would just be happy to still be a part of production and commentary teams.”
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Now that she is reaching the end of her career, Lodewyk hopes she can still be part of a few more major sporting events before she calls time on her illustrious career.
“Well, as I’m reaching the twilight of my career, I would just like to enjoy being at matches. That is and will always be the most thrilling part of my work in broadcasting, being on the ground. And even if I don’t reach a senior role again, I would just be happy to still be a part of production and commentary teams.”
Main Photo Caption: Beryl Lodewyk has been passionate about sports since childhood, attending cricket and rugby matches at Newlands Stadium in Cape Town with her father. By 2025, she has built an impressive broadcasting career, working with SuperSport, the Indian Premier League (IPL), and serving as a Director’s Assistant for several ICC World Cups. All Photos: Supplied
Photo 2 Caption: After a 21-year career at SuperSport, Lodewyk continues to freelance internationally, proving her commitment to the world of sports broadcasting.
Photo 3 Caption: Lodewyk urges women to enter sports broadcasting in South Africa, saying that the opportunities are ‘immense’, but that they must do it for the love of sport.
Photo 4 Caption: The Sports Broadcast Specialist began her career at SuperSport in 1995 after a temp job led to an opening, turning a lifelong passion into a reality.
Photo 5 Caption: Reflecting on the diverse Proteas Women’s World Cup campaign, Lodewyk stated, “As a child of the apartheid era, this feels like a miracle for me.”
