The starting point is schools cricket where schools are classified according to the support systems available to them such as facilities, coaching and standard of play. As the majority of schools do not have the necessary support structures in place, CSA offers various regional and district programmes to overcome this disability.
This includes the Hubs system, Regional Performance Centres and a link to the CSA High-Performance Pipeline. National interprovincial tournaments are played at under-13, under-15, under-17 and under-19 level for boys and at under-15 and under-19 level for girls.
An important part of these tournaments is the identification of outstanding talents, particularly of disadvantaged cricketers, through the Talent Acceleration Programme (TAP) so that the best players, irrespective of their circumstances, can represent South Africa at under-19 level and that CSA can put a truly representative side in the field at the ICC under-19 World Cup. There are also a number of avenues available to provide financial support to talented young cricketers through the Sunfoil Education Trust (SET), the Momentum Bursary Trust and the SASCOC Bursary Programme.
The next level of operations is club cricket which is supported by Provincial and Regional Academies, and the various Tertiary Education competitions such as the USSA Weeks and the Varsity Cup.
Players can then advance to the next level of provincial competition across all three formats which is played on a semi-professional basis. This is supported by the National Academy and the involvement of the South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA) which provide the necessary education, both on and off the field, to achieve a successful professional career.
Franchise cricket introduces players to the full-blooded professional game and, with the support of the High Performance Centre, enables players to achieve their dreams by selection for CSA’s various senior international teams.