Opportunities aplenty for SA A players
South Africa ‘A’ coach Vincent Barnes believes the warm-up One-Day match against England at the Diamond Oval in Kimberley on Saturday is another opportunity for players to raise their hands for higher honours.
This platform is another step closer to
international cricket and will be an ideal opportunity for some of the top
performers from the domestic scene to show their abilities against a confident England
outfit.
Dean Elgar captains a competitive SA A team, which features a good mixture of experience and some up-and-coming prospects fresh from under-19 cricket.
“These warm-up games for the incoming touring side are obviously important but this is also an opportunity for our domestic players as well,” Barnes said in Kimberley on Friday.
“We’ve tried to pick the best players out side of the national squad for this game. It gives them a great opportunity to play against international opponents. They are tough games, England have shown that they have come up here and they mean business.
“An opportunity to step up to the national team can come at any moment, we saw that during the Test series against England,” he added.
“These matches are the perfect platform for the players to put their hands up and to show that they can compete against some of the best cricketers in the world.”
Hardus Viljoen, who is a prime example of the unpredictability of national call-ups, is hoping to challenge for an opportunity in the Proteas’ ODI squad, which has two vacancies following the injuries to Dale Steyn and Kyle Abbott. The selectors will name the replacements on Sunday.
“Making my Test debut for South Africa was a dream come true but I don’t want to stop there,” Viljoen, who was named the Sunfoil Sizzler of the month after taking 30 wickets in four Sunfoil Series matches, said.
“It’s obviously a big change up from red-ball to white-ball cricket but the basics remain the same, a good ball is still a good ball. We are really motivated as a side to put up a good performance against England and hopefully everything else will take care of itself.”
Wayne Parnell has been ruled out of the match due to injury and will be replaced by The Unlimited Titans fast bowler, Marchant de Lange.
South Africa A: Dean Elgar (The Unlimited Titans, capt), Qaasim Adams (The Unlimited Titans), Theunis de Bruyn (The Unlimited Titans), Reeza Hendricks (VKB Knights), Wayne Parnell (The Unlimited Titans), Aaron Phangiso (bizhub Highveld Lions), Andile Phehlukwayo (Sunfoil Dolphins), Dane Vilas (Cape Cobras), Hardus Viljoen (bizhub Highveld Lions), David Wiese (The Unlimited Titans), Khaya Zondo (Sunfoil Dolphins).
The match will start at 13h30.
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