THE South Africa under-19 squad will start their preparation for the 2014 edition of the ICC U-19 World Cup by hosting their England counterparts for both a Test and an ODI series early next year.
Cricket South Africa (CSA) on Wednesday announced that the tour that will run from 23 January to 21 February 2013. The tour will consist of a two-match Test series and a five-match One-Day International (ODI) series.
‘’The South African under-19 team acquitted themselves well at the recently concluded ICC under-19 World Cup in Australia,” commented CSA Youth Cricket Manager Niels Momberg.
“Although many of those players have moved on, stalwarts such as Lizaad Williams, Murray Coetzee and Solomzi Nqweni will be available to create an experienced environment as we start to build toward the under-19 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates in 2014.
“This tour against England provides the ideal opportunity to kick-start the new cycle in the very important Talent Acceleration Program within the National Pipeline process. I am really looking forward to seeing who our next stars will be,” he said.
The last time the two under-19 sides met was during the ICC U-19 World Cup in Australia, where South Africa beat England by an emphatic 103 runs to book a place in the semi-finals of the tournament.
The scenic Western Cape will play host for this exciting tour. Matches will take place in Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Franschhoek and Paarl.
Jacques Faul, CSA Acting CEO, commented: “The two countries have a long-standing rivalry at full international level and this rivalry has now filtered down to the juniors.
“We have been very excited at the manner in which Quinton de Kock (at the bizhub Highveld Lions) and Prenelan Subrayen (at the Sunfoil Dolphins) have already made the challenging step from under-19 to senior franchise level and several others are making their mark in the CSA provincial competitions.
“Our under-19 cricket looks in a very healthy condition and I am sure the new under-19 class will grab the opportunity they have been given to live their dreams and take their games to the next level.
“England are renowned for the quality of their cricket and I am sure they will once again live up to that reputation.”
CSA Youth tour fixtures
January 2013
Wed 23 – Thu 24 2-Day Tour Match Bellville Cricket Club Cape Town
Sun 27 – Wed 30 1st Youth Test Sahara Park Newlands Cape Town
February 2013
Sun 03 – Wed 06 2nd Youth Test Boland Park Paarl
Sun 10 One Day Tour Match Bridge House Franschhoek
Wed 13 1st Youth ODI Boland Park Paarl
Fri 15 2nd Youth ODI Bellville Cricket Club Cape Town
Sat 16 3rd Youth ODI Boland Park Paarl
Tue 19 4th Youth ODI Coetzenberg Stellenbosch
Thur 21 5th Youth ODI Sahara Park Newlands Cape Town