Coca-Cola South Africa under-19s assistant coach, Siya Sibiya, believes the side is on the right track following the four-part U19 Talent Acceleration Programme (TAP) camp that took place throughout October in preparation for the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup set to be hosted in South Africa from 17 January – 09 February 2020.
A squad of 13 players, selected each week, and the national coaching staff gathered to take on the senior provincial sides from Free State, Northern Cape, North West and Easterns in eight 50-over practice matches during the testing, four consecutive weekends. The final leg of the camp was based in Benoni this past weekend, where the aspiring SA U19 players pitted their strengths against an experienced Easterns team.
Sibiya emphasizes that, although this period has been used to work on technical aspects, the point of these camps was to also help garner a better understanding of his players, particularly in the pressure situations they find themselves in during matches. He believes that it is an ongoing process and the findings can only be helpful ahead of the squad’s next camp at the end of November, going into the global showpiece next year.
“The focal point has been about mastering the basics,” the coach stated during the second encounter against Easterns at Willowmoore Park on Sunday. “Yes, it is a trial for all the boys for the World Cup squad and the camp in November, but it’s also for us to try and understand what the players are about and spending more time with the boys, whom we normally see only for a short camp.
“It’s been process-driven, about doing the basics and testing the players against senior provincial players and at a higher standard than schoolboy cricket. It has been challenging for the boys and their missing links or lack of certain skills have been exposed but that’s the right thing for us because we can take learnings from that and we are able to assist them and have conversations around the fundamentals and mastering those basics,” Sibiya continued.
“It’s also about creating that greater awareness because that’s going to be the key, going forward into the World Cup and going forward into their careers,” he added.
Whilst the camps have provided the further insight head coach, Lawrence Mahatlane, and his coaching staff wanted, the players have also bought into the process, with several players putting their hand up in pursuit of a place in the 15-man World Cup squad.
In addition to the capped SA U19 players, there have been some fresh faces who’ve gone on to make a name for themselves within in the set-up, including Jack Lees, Merrick Brett and Tyrese Karelse, who’s already appeared for the South Western Districts semi-professional side.
The current SA U19s captain, Bryce Parsons, paid homage to the new players in the group, stating how these camps have brought the squad together while allowing the newer players to prove their worth.
“A lot of players have come through and gained a lot of experience in these camps with players who have been on tours before, and the youngsters have also come in and integrated well with us,” Parsons said. “Our performances have been up and down but there’s been a lot of learning that has taken place over the last four weeks and we are coming closer to finding our 15 (players) for the World Cup. As a unit, we are growing. The coaching staff are getting to know our players better, so, it has been a very positive four weeks for us during which we played at the World Cup venues as well.
“Players like Merrick have stood up well with the ball and with the bat, coming in, in the lower order. He has shown that he is very capable of playing for the South Africa under-19s. He’s been the one to watch and has been outstanding for us, playing all four weeks. This weekend we also saw a guy like Tyrese, who showed us on Saturday with the bat, he was really good and composed.
“We’ve got a lot of exciting talent coming through, everyone is playing for spots and everyone knows that the World Cup is around the corner and we are just working towards one common goal,” the skipper continued.