Mahatlane excited about next generation of SA cricketers

DURBAN – The South African Under-19 side are set to play against Pakistan in a seven-match One-Day International Series at the Pietermaritzburg Oval, as well as the Chatsworth Stadium.

The series is due to kick off at the Chatsworth Oval this Saturday.

Lawrence Mahatlane’s team will be using the fixtures as a means of fine-tuning their preparations ahead of the 2020 Under-19 Cricket World Cup, which is set to take place in South Africa between 17 January and 9 February.

The games will also serve as a platform to unearth future players for the Proteas.

The SA Under-19 side recently played in a two-match Youth Test Series and a Quadrangular series against India Under-19A, India Under-19B and Afghanistan Under-19s.

They lost the Test series 2-0 and came third in the Quadrangular series behind India Under-19A and B.

Mahatlane is excited about the current SA Under-19 squad, and has travelled across the country hosting group and individual coaching sessions with players from the squad.

“The squad is very exciting,” he said. “I am excited about this group of players. We’ve got nine guys coming back from India, and we’ve got a few new and exciting characters.

“We have a guy like Akeem Minnaar, who plays at Boland, Andrew Louw, who comes from the Northern Cape and young Khanya Cotani, who plays his cricket in North West now, having previously been with Boland.

%%%twitter https://twitter.com/hashtag/YouthODI?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#YouthODIseries. #SAvPAK #SAu19s #FutureStars pic.twitter.com/mIJGhFe3yc

— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA)

“They bring so many different views, expertise and different characters to the group. I look forward to watching them gel.

“Looking at the tour against Pakistan, the process has several important objectives.

“The first one is to have the guys playing together, and the second is giving opportunities throughout the tour to see where the guys are cricket-wise.

“It’s crucial that we start giving as many opportunities as possible prior to the World Cup.”

%%%twitter https://twitter.com/hashtag/SAU19s?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SAU19s’ middle practice at the Chatsworth Oval in build-up to Saturday’s series-opener against @TheRealPCB. #SAvPAK #FutureStars #YouthODI pic.twitter.com/lEvgA1OMLi

— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA)

South Africa Under-19 Squad

Bryce Parsons (captain, Gauteng), Luke Beaufort (Eastern Province), Jonathan Bird (Western Province), Achille Cloete (Boland), Gerald Coetzee (Free State), Khanya Cotani (North West), Micheal Copeland (Gauteng), Andrew Louw (Free State), Akeem Minnaar (Boland), Lifa Ntanzi (KZN Coastal), Imraan Philander (WP), Siya Plaatjie (WP), Ruan Terblanche (Boland), Tiaan van Vuuren (EP), Nonelela Yika (Border).