Fringe Proteas players will have another opportunity to knock harder on the national team’s door when South Africa ‘A’ host their India and Afghanistan counterparts in the ODI triangular series.
The tournament starts in Pretoria on Wednesday morning with South Africa ‘A’‚ to be captained by Khaya Zondo‚ taking on India ‘A’ at the Groenkloof Oval in what is expected to be an evenly contested match-up.
Though the tournament is expected to fly under the radar‚ South Africa ‘A’ coach Shukri Conrad has urged his players to grab the opportunity as the national selectors will observe proceedings.
“There is no motivation needed for the players at this level because this is a chance for them to be noticed by the Proteas selectors‚" said Conrad.
"We are playing for our country and they must also be motivated to do better than our recent tour to England and get things right.
"These ‘A’ tours can be a very difficult space to operate in because guys often have one eye on playing for the senior national team.
"But they must focus on the job at hand.
“The big thing for me is to play some front foot cricket‚ play an attacking brand of cricket and not to take a backward step.
"I think we backed off a little bit against the English in England because they play aggressively.
"We have to be smart enough to assess the conditions early but fortunately we know them very well and there will be no excuse when we get it wrong.
"Some of the lessons from the England tour are that batters need to set-up big totals and bowlers need to be ruthless in their execution of their skills‚ especially when we are under pressure.
"The wickets are going to be particularly good as the days go by and we are expecting a few big scores.”
The South African team boasts experienced players like Farhaan Berhadien‚ Aaron Phangiso‚ Tabraiz Shamsi‚ Reeza Hendricks and Jon-Jon Smuts.
They have represented the Proteas at ODI or T20 level.
“I hate singling out players but there is no doubt that we have some dangerous players‚" Conrad said.
"The experience that players like Dwaine Pretorius‚ Behardien and Henry Davids bring to the side with the bat is massive.
"On the bowling front‚ Phangiso and Shamsi are two quality spinners and I think spin is going to be important this week.
"We also have Junior Dala who was our best bowlers during the recent England tour across all formats and we are hoping that he will continue on that trend.”
South Africa ‘A’ ODI Squad:
Khaya Zondo (Dolphins‚ capt)‚ Farhaan Behardien (Titans)‚ Junior Dala (Titans)‚ Henry Davids (Titans)‚ Beuran Hendricks (Lions)‚ Reeza Hendricks (Lions)‚ Heinrich Klaasen (Titans)‚ Mangaliso Mosehle (Lions)‚ Wiaan Mulder (Lions)‚ Dane Paterson (Cobras)‚ Aaron Phangiso (Lions)‚ Dwaine Pretorius (Lions)‚ Tabraiz Shamsi (Titans)‚ Jason Smith (Cobras)‚ Jon-Jon Smuts (Warriors)
Fixtures:
26 July: South Africa ‘A’ v India 'A' (Groenkloof‚ Pretoria)
28 July: Afghanistan 'A' v India 'A' (Tuks Oval‚ Pretoria)
30 July: South Africa 'A' v Afghanistan ‘A’ (Tuks Oval‚ Pretoria)
01 Aug: India 'A' v Afghanistan ‘A’ (Tuks Oval‚ Pretoria)
03 Aug: South Africa 'A' v India 'A' (Tuks Oval‚ Pretoria)
05 Aug: South Africa 'A' v Afghanistan ‘A’ (Tuks Oval‚ Pretoria)
08 Aug: Final (Tuks Oval‚ Pretoria)
- TimesLIVE
Fringe players get an opportunity to knock on the Proteas door in the ODI triangular series
Fringe Proteas players will have another opportunity to knock harder on the national team’s door when South Africa ‘A’ host their India and Afghanistan counterparts in the ODI triangular series.
The tournament starts in Pretoria on Wednesday morning with South Africa ‘A’‚ to be captained by Khaya Zondo‚ taking on India ‘A’ at the Groenkloof Oval in what is expected to be an evenly contested match-up.
Though the tournament is expected to fly under the radar‚ South Africa ‘A’ coach Shukri Conrad has urged his players to grab the opportunity as the national selectors will observe proceedings.
“There is no motivation needed for the players at this level because this is a chance for them to be noticed by the Proteas selectors‚" said Conrad.
"We are playing for our country and they must also be motivated to do better than our recent tour to England and get things right.
"These ‘A’ tours can be a very difficult space to operate in because guys often have one eye on playing for the senior national team.
"But they must focus on the job at hand.
“The big thing for me is to play some front foot cricket‚ play an attacking brand of cricket and not to take a backward step.
"I think we backed off a little bit against the English in England because they play aggressively.
"We have to be smart enough to assess the conditions early but fortunately we know them very well and there will be no excuse when we get it wrong.
"Some of the lessons from the England tour are that batters need to set-up big totals and bowlers need to be ruthless in their execution of their skills‚ especially when we are under pressure.
"The wickets are going to be particularly good as the days go by and we are expecting a few big scores.”
The South African team boasts experienced players like Farhaan Berhadien‚ Aaron Phangiso‚ Tabraiz Shamsi‚ Reeza Hendricks and Jon-Jon Smuts.
They have represented the Proteas at ODI or T20 level.
“I hate singling out players but there is no doubt that we have some dangerous players‚" Conrad said.
"The experience that players like Dwaine Pretorius‚ Behardien and Henry Davids bring to the side with the bat is massive.
"On the bowling front‚ Phangiso and Shamsi are two quality spinners and I think spin is going to be important this week.
"We also have Junior Dala who was our best bowlers during the recent England tour across all formats and we are hoping that he will continue on that trend.”
South Africa ‘A’ ODI Squad:
Khaya Zondo (Dolphins‚ capt)‚ Farhaan Behardien (Titans)‚ Junior Dala (Titans)‚ Henry Davids (Titans)‚ Beuran Hendricks (Lions)‚ Reeza Hendricks (Lions)‚ Heinrich Klaasen (Titans)‚ Mangaliso Mosehle (Lions)‚ Wiaan Mulder (Lions)‚ Dane Paterson (Cobras)‚ Aaron Phangiso (Lions)‚ Dwaine Pretorius (Lions)‚ Tabraiz Shamsi (Titans)‚ Jason Smith (Cobras)‚ Jon-Jon Smuts (Warriors)
Fixtures:
26 July: South Africa ‘A’ v India 'A' (Groenkloof‚ Pretoria)
28 July: Afghanistan 'A' v India 'A' (Tuks Oval‚ Pretoria)
30 July: South Africa 'A' v Afghanistan ‘A’ (Tuks Oval‚ Pretoria)
01 Aug: India 'A' v Afghanistan ‘A’ (Tuks Oval‚ Pretoria)
03 Aug: South Africa 'A' v India 'A' (Tuks Oval‚ Pretoria)
05 Aug: South Africa 'A' v Afghanistan ‘A’ (Tuks Oval‚ Pretoria)
08 Aug: Final (Tuks Oval‚ Pretoria)
- TimesLIVE
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