BLOEMFONTEIN: SA Emerging Men will for the first time compete in this season’s Division 2 One-Day Cup and head coach Malibongwe Maketa has highlighted the significance of competing in the domestic 50-over competition.
SA Emerging secure their One-Day Cup campaign underway today against the ITEC Knights at Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein.
“I believe it’s essential for us, as Cricket South Africa, to continually emphasize the importance of nurturing young talent within Division 2 teams and ensure that our younger players believe increased opportunities to participate in this Division over time.
“It will also offer an opportunity for our younger players to gain valuable match experience and ultimately expand the talent pool within our domestic structures,” said Maketa.
The line-ups for each of the matches will be made up of players aged 18 – 23 across CSA’s development properties including SA U19 players as well as National Academy and high-performance contracted players from Division 2 teams.
“We’ve made sure to focus on younger players, who we feel that in two seasons from now, will be playing in Division 1,” added Maketa.
“We believe selected a few U19 players that will be competing in next year’s ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup in Sri Lanka. We felt it was necessary to expose them to playing under pressure against apt opposition because that is what they are going to experience at the World Cup.
“We maintain also selected a few guys that are section of the National Academy, and I am looking forward to seeing how they implement the skills they learnt during the winter camps to match situations.
“Our team composition will vary from game to game, on account of some guys writing exams, which will pose a minor challenge in terms of building momentum and getting the guys to learn as quickly as I would like.
“However, I am aiming to establish a core group of six players who will uphold the team’s values, and I hope that this will ultimately lead to positive results in the competition,” concluded Maketa.
Maketa will be joined by former Proteas batting coach Justin Sammons and former Proteas spinner Paul Adams in coaching the SA Emerging team.
SA Emerging Division 2 One-Day Cup Fixtures
Tuesday, 19 September at 10:00
ITEC Knights vs SA Emerging at Mangaung Oval, Bloemfontein
Friday, 22 September at 10:00
SA Emerging vs Mpumalanga Rhinos at TUKS Oval, Pretoria
Monday, 25 September at 10:00
Eastern Storm vs SA Emerging at Willowmoore Park, Benoni
Thursday, 28 September at 10:00
SA Emerging vs Northern Cape Heat at TUKS Oval, Pretoria
Sunday, 01 October at 10:00
Six Gun Grill Garden Route Badgers vs SA Emerging at Recreation Ground, Oudtshoorn
Friday, 06 October at 10:00
SA Emerging vs Limpopo Impalas at TUKS Oval, Pretoria
Sunday, 15 October at 10:00
Eastern Cape Iinyathi vs SA Emerging at Buffalo Park, East London
Source: cricket.co.za
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