*** Official *** South African Domestic Season 2019/20

[SeamUp]

Interestingly I see Mark Boucher has made Grant Thomson the Titans captain for the 4-day competition with Klaasen not around and not going to other senior players like Kuhn/Davids/Behardien.

With so many internationals and players like Kuhn/Morris not fully committed to the Titans and players like Henry Davids surely just limited overs now makes their selection next week interesting. There isn't the stars like the recent past to work with when internationals are away. Not sure about massive talents either.

Agathangelou
de Zorzi
Brand
Vandiar
Behardien
Thomson (c)
Masondo (wk)
C.Bosch
Arnold
Dala
Shamsi

Galiem
de Swardt
Simmonds
Mothoa/Moreki/Gumede

 

[SeamUp]

Interestingly I see Mark Boucher has made Grant Thomson the Titans captain for the 4-day competition with Klaasen not around and not going to other senior players like Kuhn/Davids/Behardien.

With so many internationals and players like Kuhn/Morris not fully committed to the Titans and players like Henry Davids surely just limited overs now makes their selection next week interesting. There isn't the stars like the recent past to work with when internationals are away. Not sure about massive talents either.

Agathangelou
de Zorzi
Brand
Vandiar
Behardien
Thomson (c)
Masondo (wk)
C.Bosch
Arnold
Dala
Shamsi

Galiem
de Swardt
Simmonds
Mothoa/Moreki/Gumede

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series...vince-pool-a-csa-3-day-provincial-cup-2019-20

Masondo, Arnold and Gumede all playing for Easterns so you can rule that out. Wonder if that then means Hermann or Moonsamy keeps for Titans. May bring in other options like Marcello Piedt and Kyle Simmonds. Expect Mothoa to play then too.

Interestingly for EP Second is playing and so is Ngoepe. No Jade de Klerk though.

 

[SeamUp]

Josh Richards has a real chance I think.

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series...uteng-pool-a-csa-3-day-provincial-cup-2019-20

Going by that Gauteng team with him and Potgieter playing.

Lions probably going from.

R.Hendricks, D.Hendricks, Fortuin, B.Hendricks
Rickelton, Lubbe, van den Bergh (wk), Mulder, D.Pretorius, M.Pretorius
Rapulana, Pongolo, Phangiso, Siboto

 

[Prince EWS]

Big ton for Richards. Can't be too far away from a franchise debut with the start he's had to his provincial career as a 19-20 year old.

 

[MrPrez]

Big ton for Richards. Can't be too far away from a franchise debut with the start he's had to his provincial career as a 19-20 year old.

Seeing wonderkid batsman after wonderkid batsman rear their head, I find myself more and more disappointed with our batting coaching and player development infrastructure at domestic level.

Considering the raw batting talent we regularly uncover, it's quite disappointing that so few players kick on and fulfill their potential - and those who do still don't seem to have the right mental stuff.

Looking, for example, at the raw batting talent we have coming through - we should be set for a dominant batting line-up for the upcoming generation.

We're digging from stocks like
Markram
Richards
Breetzke
Hamza
J. Malan
Qeshile
Bedingham
Rickelton
Mulder
Verreyne

To name but 10. Now, I'm fully aware that we can't expect all 10 of those guys to reach their potential, but with that sort of talent at our disposal, at one time, there really is no excuse for batting line-ups like the one we see at the moment,.

We've been much better with bowlers, and have regularly managed to have a surplus of quality pacers. Even now, we have the likes of Dupavillon in the background - and that's after losing Abbott and de Lange to Kolpak.

I know that South Africa has bowler-friendly pitches (pacer-friendly in particular) but there is enough for the batsmen, and we've shown that we can develop individual world-class batsmen (Kallis, Smith, de Villiers, Amla etc) - so why we can't develop quality batsmen to bat around the odd star is beyond me.

 

[Dendarii]

I know that South Africa has bowler-friendly pitches (pacer-friendly in particular) but there is enough for the batsmen, and we've shown that we can develop individual world-class batsmen (Kallis, Smith, de Villiers, Amla etc) - so why we can't develop quality batsmen to bat around the odd star is beyond me.

For some reason a generation of batsman seems to have largely gone missing. All the players you mentioned are in their early 20s, but where are the batsmen in their late 20s who should have been knocking on the door for selection and competing to be the ones to replace the retired stars? If you look at the batsman in that demographic it's the likes of De Bruyn, Zondo, Hendricks, and P. Malan, none of whom inspire a great deal of confidence.

I know some like Rossouw and Ackermann went Kolpak, but it wasn't that many and we should have been able to bear their loss. But we weren't and now we're stuck with not having much to pick from while we wait for the youngsters to mature. I don't know enough about the structures to be able to hazard any sort of a guess as to what happened, but the concern is that it could happen again and we'll be having similar discussions in the future.

 

[StephenZA]

You don't get brilliant generations of players consistently. WI, Aus and Eng can attest to that. We have just lost a world class group of players, and we need to nurture the upcoming group that have promise. Kolpak and quota has had its effects particularly at the FC level, and these structures need to be fixed. However it is never just one thing and will take time.

My biggest concern would probably be attitude, which probably starts at FC level. I am sure the guys are playing their best and trying. But at the same time some of the lethargy is obvious and players appear to be switching off. I know that SA teams have played with to much intensity in the past (hence the WC problems) but if you had a Wessels type character as captain the entire team would be doing laps around the field from end of day until midnight. I believe that Jennings and we know Arthur were tough on players. The players should be harsh on themselves right now because they are playing well below par.

 

[SeamUp]

Warriors squad.

Magala injured.

Matthew Breetzke
Andrew Birch
Jon-Jon Smuts
Sinethemba Qeshile
Gihahn Cloete
Yaseen Vallie
Lutho Sipamla
Jade de Klerk
Glenton Stuurman
Onke Nyaku
Eddie Moore
Rudi Second
Sithembile Langa

Jon-Jon Smuts retains the captaincy role in this new season as the Warriors look to go for gold. Rudi Second makes his due return to the team and is geared up to step out into the 4-Day format for the Warriors. 2018/19 Warriors 4-Day star player Eddie Moore looks to continue where he left off last season

having been the team’s highest run scorer in this format – Moore seems ready to continue in that run scoring manner.

Debutants Jade de Klerk, Onke Nyaku and Glenton Stuurman were impressive last season and as such, earned the call up into the Warriors 4-Day Squad. These players look to step up within the balance of the team and etch their names into the Warriors 4-Day legacy.

Head coach Rivash Gobind is very excited for the prospects of his team. He says one of the biggest challenges this year will be to make sure that team hits the ground running in each competition, from the start.

“There are only two competitions we are playing and there are only 10 games in each, so we need to make sure we are on the money and on the button from the first game. That will go a long way in ensuring that we are competing at the end of each competition.”

Gobind adds: “I am excited to see the development of all the guys that came in last season and made their debuts and had their first full seasons. I think there is a lot of potential within that group.

“There are a lot of names, Sinethemba Qeshile, Matthew Breetzke, Lutho Sipamla, Glenton Stuurman, Jade de Klerk, and Onke Nyaku. I am excited to see how they cope with a full season behind them and the added expectation. We are looking for big performances from them.

“It’s pretty obvious that every game you go into you want to win, it’s not something we talk about because it’s a given. Everyone knows what we need to achieve, and they understand what we need to do as a unit and as individuals to get there,” Gobind says.

The match vs the VKB Knights takes place at the Diamond Oval in Kimberly on Monday the 7th of October to Thursday 10th of October 2019. This is a well awaited clash and it seems it will be quite the contest.

Injuries:

Sisanda Magala misses out on the start to the Warriors new season due to a hip injury. Magala will be out of action for two weeks and thereafter he will be reassessed.

 

[MrPrez]

You don't get brilliant generations of players consistently. WI, Aus and Eng can attest to that. We have just lost a world class group of players, and we need to nurture the upcoming group that have promise. Kolpak and quota has had its effects particularly at the FC level, and these structures need to be fixed. However it is never just one thing and will take time.

You're right, of course, but I still feel that we've done a poor job of nurturing talented players historically.

Duminy, Ontong, Dippenaar, Rudolph.

Rossouw, van Zyl, de Bruyn, Ackerman.

We regularly have talented domestic batsmen unable to step-up to the test side successfully.

We seem to have an issue getting these guys to translate their talent onto the Test scene.

Our bowlers seem to transition to Test level much quicker.

 

[SeamUp]

You're right, of course, but I still feel that we've done a poor job of nurturing talented players historically.

Duminy, Ontong, Dippenaar, Rudolph.

Rossouw, van Zyl, de Bruyn, Ackerman.

We regularly have talented domestic batsmen unable to step-up to the test side successfully.

We seem to have an issue getting these guys to translate their talent onto the Test scene.

Our bowlers seem to transition to Test level much quicker.

Maybe just highlights how tough it is to be a good test cricketer ? Not anyone can just be one which makes the sport great. Tests and challenges are so demanding and consistency proves how good a cricketer you are.

 

[Dendarii]

You don't get brilliant generations of players consistently.

That's true, although I don't think it's unreasonable to expect the consistent production of good players. So not another De Villiers or Amla as those types of players obviously don't come around too often, but someone like Ashwell Prince who had a solid but not spectacular test career. Bavuma being the best of the batsman we've tried is a sad state of affairs.

 

[MrPrez]

Maybe just highlights how tough it is to be a good test cricketer ? Not anyone can just be one which makes the sport great. Tests and challenges are so demanding and consistency proves how good a cricketer you are.

Being a dominant player in domestic cricket should be an indicator you can be at least a serviceable Test batsman, though.

 

[StephenZA]

Being a dominant player in domestic cricket should be an indicator you can be at least a serviceable Test batsman, though.

Well that is the current issue at FC level. It is also why you can see them use SA 'A' tours etc as litmus tests for players. And often players doing well at FC level struggle during SA 'A' matches.

 

[MrPrez]

Well that is the current issue at FC level. It is also why you can see them use SA 'A' tours etc as litmus tests for players. And often players doing well at FC level struggle during SA 'A' matches.

Exactly my point.

 

[Dendarii]

So the question is why? In theory, South Africa being bowler-friendly means that players scoring loads of runs in first-class cricket should be able to make the step up. Or are our overall bowling stocks not quite as good as we think they are, with a huge drop-off after the top tier, so the batsmen are cashing in on some rather ordinary bowlers and not getting the best preparation for international cricket?

 

[SeamUp]

Being a dominant player in domestic cricket should be an indicator you can be at least a serviceable Test batsman, though.

Not necassarily.

Take HD Ackerman. Quality player. Domestic dominator and could play all around the country.

Got to test level and faced Murali and his test career ended before it could really get going.

International bowlers are just so much better, faster, accurate, skillful and it is non-stop and relentless.

Think it is a big mental game too and possibly where some players fail. If Elgar and de Bruyn were in the same domestic team I bet Theunis would be as consistent as him.

 

[Stefan9]

You're right, of course, but I still feel that we've done a poor job of nurturing talented players historically.

Duminy, Ontong, Dippenaar, Rudolph.

Rossouw, van Zyl, de Bruyn, Ackerman.

We regularly have talented domestic batsmen unable to step-up to the test side successfully.

We seem to have an issue getting these guys to translate their talent onto the Test scene.

Our bowlers seem to transition to Test level much quicker.

Common denominator between all those batsmen who failed, are failing. They were all very weak mentally.

 

[SeamUp]

Knights announced their team for Warriors. Makwetu injured. That batting is a joke. Svb at 6, Marco 7, Gerald 8 ? Looks like Keegan is keeping too.

1. Grant Mokoena
2. Raynard van Tonder
3. Keegan Petersen (wk)
4. Pite van Biljon (c)
5. Patrick Kruger
6. Shaun von Berg
7. Marco Jansen
8. Gerald Coetzee
9. Ottneil Baartman
10. Thando Mnyaka
11. Tshepo Ntuli

12. Luvuyo Adam
13. Andries Gous

 

[StephenZA]

Knights announced their team for Warriors. Makwetu injured. That batting is a joke. Svb at 6, Marco 7, Gerald 8 ?

Why so weak? Seems that there must be somebody better available? Maybe Jansen will show some real batting quality?

 

[SeamUp]

Why so weak? Seems that there must be somebody better available? Maybe Jansen will show some real batting quality?

Trying to think who else they have contracted beyond those 14. Obus Pienaar , Mbulelo Budaza, Shadley van Dchalkwyk so only Pienaar as a batting option.

But I mean supposedly powers that be are saying Shaun von Berg has to play. Not sure how you don't fit Gous in if you need a keeper. Hopefully they will change their mind before the toss.

Marco does seem to have genuine ability. Think those guys are at least 1 position high.