Photo Credit: Western Province Cricket Association
A strong South Africa A (SA ‘A’) squad depart for their tour to Sri Lanka on Wednesday where they will face the hosts in three one-day and two four-day matches starting from Sunday.
The 15-man group is being led by Proteas batter, Tony de Zorzi, under the guidance of Test head coach Shukri Conrad.
Most of the team have spent the last week in Pretoria where they have been preparing for the tour at the CSA Centre of Excellence. De Zorzi says the preparation camp was extremely beneficial for everyone.
“We caught a lot of the nets, we had double sessions most of the days morning, followed by afternoon sessions,” he commented. “We also had a couple of warm-up games and then middle session scenarios.
“It’s always nice to be in the middle, spend time on the legs for the batters and for the bowlers to get a proper feel of some game time with some match-like intensity and then obviously preparing for certain conditions as well. So I think preparations have gone really well and everyone is ready to go and hit the ground running come the weekend.”
De Zorzi, who is coming off a promising debut season of international cricket, is looking forward to the trip, which begins with a one-day clash in Kandy on Sunday.
“I’m quite excited about the challenge of leading the ‘A’ side for this tour,” he said. “It’s a massive honour and I’m really pleased to be given the job.
“We have a very talented squad of players that have been put together by coach Shukri. I’m pleased to be working with them and look forward to learning from them as well.”
The squad includes several Proteas in Keegan Petersen, Kyle Verreynne, Gerald Coetzee, Senuran Muthusamy, Tristan Stubbs, Lizaad Williams, Sinethemba Qeshile and Lutho Sipamla. Zubayr Hamza is also returning to the national setup.
Some of the country’s most exciting young players have also made the cut, amongst them being batters Dewald Brevis and Jordan Hermann.
De Zorzi added: “We want to obviously go there and win both series, that’s the main target. We also want to see players develop in different conditions at the same time, so that is the aim.”
South Africa A Squad against Sri Lanka A
Tony de Zorzi (captain, Six Gun Grill Western Province), Matthew Breetzke (Dafabet Warriors), Dewald Brevis (Momentum Multiply Titans), Gerald Coetzee (Momentum Multiply Titans), Zubayr Hamza (DP World Lions), Jordan Hermann (Dafabet Warriors), Tshepo Moreki (DP World Lions), Senuran Muthusamy (North West Dragons), Keegan Petersen (Gbets Rocks), Sinethemba Qeshile (Dafabet Warriors), Lutho Sipamla (DP World Lions), Tristan Stubbs (Dafabet Warriors), Beyers Swanepoel (Dafabet Warriors), Kyle Verreynne (Six Gun Grill Western Province) and Lizaad Williams (Momentum Multiply Titans).
Management
Shukri Conrad (Head Coach), Riaan Osman (Team Manager), Piet Botha (Bowling Coach), Kruger van Wyk (Fielding Coach), Justin Sammons (Batting Coach), Nandile Tyali (Strength and Conditioning Coach), Brent Martin (Physiotherapist), Abram Ndlovu (Performance Analyst).
South Africa A Tour to Sri Lanka Itinerary
One-Day Matches
Sunday, 4 June
Sri Lanka A vs South Africa A in Kandy
Tuesday, 6 June
Sri Lanka A vs South Africa A in Kandy
Thursday, 8 June
Sri Lanka A vs South Africa A in Kandy
Four-Day Matches
12 – 15 June
Sri Lanka A vs South Africa A in Dambulla
19 – 22 June
Sri Lanka A vs South Africa A in Dambulla
Name of Author: Cricket South Africa
Cricket South Africa (CSA) governs cricket in South Africa. Formed in 2002, it succeeded the United Cricket Board of South Africa (UCB) and became the sole governing body in 2008. CSA oversees all levels of cricket, including national teams for men and women, and is a full ICC member and SASCOC affiliate.
