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Maketa gets himself ready for the main job

SA U-19 men’s head coach hones his skills for future prospective jobs

Athenkosi Tsotsi Sports Reporter
Malibongwe Maketa led the Proteas in the Test series against Australia in January as acting head coach.
Malibongwe Maketa led the Proteas in the Test series against Australia in January as acting head coach.
Image: Lee Warren/Gallo Images

Former Proteas interim coach Malibongwe Maketa says he’ll use his time with the Cricket SA national academy to hone his skills as a coach for future prospective jobs. 

Maketa took charge of the Test series against Australia in the previous season after Mark Boucher left. When the search for Boucher’s replacement was ongoing, Maketa declared his interest in the Proteas coaching gig before the appointments of Shukri Conrad and Rob Walter as the red and white ball coaches respectively. 

The coach, from Zwelitsha in the Eastern Cape, was retained in the CSA coaching structures as the SA U-19 Men’s head coach. He will also lead the men’s national academy side for the 2023 programme. The national academy has over the years been a platform for players, coaches and administrators to move up the ranks in the system.

Maketa is relishing the prospect of being the mentor in the national academy as it will help equip him for a higher-level job. 

“It’s always been a goal to work at the highest level,” said Maketa speaking to Sowetan at the centre of excellence after the launch of the 2023 national academy.

“Working with these young players and having worked with the Proteas, the detail changes. Whereby now, it is a lot of detail and challenging in terms of what you come out of school with, which will carry you to Test cricket.  

“It’s about making them see the bigger picture of what is required at the highest level. From that point, my coaching is challenged in a different way which I think will prepare me well when the opportunity arises for me to take the next step in my career,” he said. 

Maketa will work with players who have potential from the domestic scene, and the U-19 as well as some recommended by ICC Africa. 

“The players that are identified are already identified with an end goal in mind, looking at what we’ll need down the road in two to three years from now. The players to plug those holes are here. It’s up to us now to make sure we help them to fulfil those responsibilities,” he said. 

CSA national men’s academy squad 2023:

Liam AlderMatthew Boast, Okuhle CeleMichael CopelandJordan HermannDuan JansenValentine KitimeAndile MokgakaneSiya PlaatjieJosh RichardsCaleb SelekaAndile SimelaneMusa TwalaMitchell van BuurenNealan van HeerdenGeorge van HeerdenAdbulmumuni Taiwo Mohammed (Nigeria), Cosmas Kyewuta (Uganda) Mohamed Omary Kitunda (Tanzania)

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