02 Jan SA U19S FOCUSED ON THE CONTROLLABLES AHEAD OF SERIES-FINALE
Sunday, 02 January 2022
VINCENT: South Africa under-19s head into the fourth and final Youth One-Day International (ODI) encounter against the West Indies juniors on a high following a challenging but fruitful series in the island of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines as they build up to the 2022 ICC U19 Men’s World Cup hosted in the Caribbean.
South Africa take a 2-1 lead into Monday’s (03 January) finale, on the back of two narrow victories on either side of an eight-wicket defeat in what has been a tour dominated by the bowlers.
All-rounder Michael Copeland, the most experienced player in the current SA U19s set up – having made his debut in 2019 and played seven Youth ODI matches for the green and gold – highlights the importance of the pre-World Cup tour and the invaluable experience gained from the trip.
“The tour to the West Indies has been a vital component to our preparations going into the World Cup,” the 19-year old stated.
“As a team, we’ve gained tons of experience playing in the conditions we have been exposed to and have learnt to be patient on and off the field as things may not always fall into place when we need them to. But that is uncontrollable, and we have remained focused on what we can control,
“A series-win for us will really set us in good pace going into the World Cup. In saying that, the West Indies team have put up a great fight up to now, which has allowed us to learn some vital lessons along the way as we’ve realised the game is more mentally connected than we think and as the games have been nailbiters until the end.” he added.
The tour to the West Indies is the penultimate step of an almost two-year expedition for the SA U19s’ Class of 2022, and it will culminate in a junior World Cup in the Caribbean from 14 January to 05 February.
The trip to the Caribbean Basin, coupled with strict COVID-19 safety measures in place, is a first for most of the South African youngsters, with some players taking an overseas flight for the first time ever, while others are spending an unusual amount of time away from their families as teenagers.
Factors that Copeland suggests have helped build and foster the togetherness within the squad as they look to seal a momentous, confidence-boosting series victory over the home side ahead of the youth global showpiece.
“The journey getting here has been long; as we’ve taken flights from Johannesburg to Germany, then to Barbados and lastly to Saint Vincent,” Copeland noted.
“Being in a bio-bubble for around two weeks now and being away from our families has been hard for some of us but we have come to realise that we are the closest thing we’ve got to family now, which has brought us even closer together.
“I have great confidence in us as a team going into the last game of the Youth ODI series before the World Cup and hopefully we can make our country proud,” he concluded.
The fourth Youth One-Day International gets underway on Monday, 03 January from 09H00 local time (15H00 SA Time).
The SA U19 Bilateral Tour of the West Indies schedule:
Monday, 03 January 2022 4th YODI Arnos Vale St. Vincent
South Africa Under-19 Squad:
George van Heerden (Captain) (Warriors), Liam Alder (Lions), Matthew Boast (KZN Inland), Dewald Brevis (Titans), Michael Copeland (Boland), Ethan Cunningham (Western Province), Valentine Kitime (Titans), Kwena Maphaka (Lions), Gerhard Maree (Free State), Aphiwe Mnyanda (Warriors), Andile Simelane (KwaZulu-Natal Inland), Jade Smith (Warriors), Kaden Solomons (Western Province), Joshua Stephenson (Warriors), Asakhe Tshaka (Western Province)
2022 ICC U19 Cricket World Cup – South Africa Under-19 Squad:
George van Heerden (Captain) (Warriors), Liam Alder (Lions), Matthew Boast (KZN Inland), Dewald Brevis (Titans), Michael Copeland (Boland), Ethan Cunningham (Western Province), Valentine Kitime (Titans), Kwena Maphaka (Lions), Gerhard Maree (Free State), Aphiwe Mnyanda (Warriors), Andile Simelane (KwaZulu-Natal Inland), Jade Smith (Warriors), Kaden Solomons (Western Province), Joshua Stephenson (Warriors), Asakhe Tshaka (Western Province)
Travelling Reserves
Hardus Coetzer (Titans), Ronan Hermann (Titans), Caleb Seleka (North West)
Management:
Shukri Conrad – Head coach
Thabang Khumalo – Assistant coach
Blanche Conradie – Manager
Phumzile Ngobese – Physiotherapist
Curtley Diesel – Fitness Trainer
Kyle Southgate – Video Analys
Rory Kleinveldt – Bowling consultant
Neil McKenzie – Batting consultant
Salih Solomons – Doctor
For media queries, please contact:
Lita Gqirana
Cell.: (+27) 76 503 9655
Email: litag@cricket.co.za
ENDS
Issued by: Cricket South Africa – Corporate Communications
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