Ken Borland

Lawrence Mahatlane is the new man tasked with the vital job of developing the best U19 talent in the country and he firmly believes that making those youngsters more self-aware will be the key to them succeeding at senior level, when the pressure on them becomes really serious.

It’s a fact of biology that the age-groups Mahatlane are dealing with can be almost too self-aware, self-conscious and unassured, but the 37-year-old is experienced in handling youngsters and he believes that giving them confidence in their techniques will provide them with great security out on the field.

“My job is to get them ready, mentally as much as anything, for senior cricket. It’s about how they adapt to match situations and we need to accelerate the process of their up-skilling. It’s all linked in to their self-awareness. Are they comfortable with their own technique?

“Technical matters can create doubt – thinking about your head falling over or your hands not going through the ball while you’re batting is not ideal. If you’re worrying about your technique, worried about where your toes are pointing when someone as fast as Dale Steyn is running in to bowl at you, then you’re in a lot of trouble.

“A player is going to run into a hundred coaches through his career and if he’s not self-aware, he will struggle emotionally. You need to understand your technique and grow with it. The game is a lot more about the mental aspect higher up and the youngsters need to be able to survive the heat.

“So that’s why I had all my squad fill in questionnaires about how they see their own games. By writing it down, they become more self-aware and then we have video analysis to see if they are actually doing it – it’s a different thing doing it under pressure in the middle,” Mahatlane explained.

Mahatlane’s method forces the youngsters into honing their techniques so they become second-nature.

“When you first start driving a car, you have to work really hard on using the clutch correctly and that’s your focus. But after a while you just do it naturally and it’s the same with cricket. You must deal with the technical issues in the winter so that you don’t even have to think about it when you’re in a match.”

The former Highveld Lions assistant coach faces the daunting task of replacing Ray Jennings straight after the former senior national coach won the ICC U19 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates in March, with some critics chanting the usual insulting allegations of political expediency and affirmative action.

But to be fair, Jennings had been at the helm of the U19s for 10 years and was always going to leave sooner rather than later. Nevertheless, many feel that Mahatlane has been given a hospital pass.

“I don’t see it as daunting, I see it as exciting. At this age-group, every year there is change and growth and if players are going to perform at such a young age, then they need to be mentored better and for longer,” the popular radio commentator said.

Although he was a talented player himself, the St Martins and St Stithians educated Mahatlane knew his future was in coaching. He first worked with the SA U19s in 2002 as the assistant coach and the next year, he was in charge as the team won the Junior Commonwealth Games title, and he also worked under current Proteas coach Russell Domingo in the 2004 Junior World Cup in Bangladesh.

He would then leave the juniors and take up the position of Gauteng Strikers coach, leading them to the three-day title in 2006/7 and the limited-overs crown the following season. Promotion to the Highveld Lions coaching staff followed, before he took a break from coaching in 2011 and began working as a cricket commentator.

Mahatlane is adopting a long-term view with the national U19s, with his focus being the 2016 Junior World Cup in Bangladesh.

“At this age-group, every year there is change and growth, different individuals putting their hands up. There are only three players eligible from the World Cup-winning squad, so the rest are guys that just missed out or boys that have newly become eligible. Which makes it quite a challenge.

“I’ve planned the process of how best to prepare for 2016 in Bangladesh, we need to get ourselves ready, mentally as much as anything. We need to accelerate the process of getting these players up-skilled and there are three tiers of players involved – those who are in matric now, those already at varsity and the ones with 18 months still to go in the U19 age-group.

“It’s not even just about cricket – the guys have to get used to being forced to make a three-hour drive from their hotel to the cricket ground, the sound of all the hooters, the smells of the sub-continent; they cannot be shocked when they arrive at the World Cup,” Mahatlane said.

The Unlimited Titans were able to spring into action – as befits the month of September – from the word go as they dominated the opening day of the inaugural Global Softech Sixes Franchise Challenge with three consecutive victories at SuperSport Park yesterday.

Their opening match, the 10.50am encounter with the Warriors, proved a good tune-up as they restricted the Eastern Cape franchise to 87 for two in their five overs, left-arm spinner Roelof van der Merwe and medium-pacers Theunis de Bruyn and Farhaan Behardien all producing tidy overs.

De Bruyn is also a clean-hitting, powerful batsman and he slammed four sixes off nine balls in scoring 33 not out as he and fellow opener Henry Davids (32 retired off 7 balls, 4×6) broke the back of the chase as the Titans laid down an early warning to the other franchises, winning with a full over to spare.

In their second match, against the Highveld Lions, David Wiese showed that he is one of the most effective hitters in the country as he hammered four sixes off five balls, scoring 25 not out to take the Titans to 99 for one.

Behardien, another man who has no doubt been earmarked for the national team to be chosen tomorrow, scored 27 not out off 10 balls, while De Bruyn again showed what a talented batsman he is by scoring 34 off 10 balls before having to retire.

Spin is again proving to be an effective weapon for the Titans and Van der Merwe conceded just eight runs, six of them from one hit by Chris Morris, in the second over before off-spinner Davids took two for seven in the third to fatally undermine the Lions’ chase.

There was a slight threat in the final over when De Bruyn had to be taken out of the attack after bowling two high full tosses, hit for six and four respectively, but wicketkeeper Mangaliso Mosehle, with 28 runs to play with, conceded 19 runs off the last four balls and removed the dangerous Morris, who belted seven sixes in his 53 off 17 deliveries.

Wiese bowled a magnificent opening over, conceding just four runs (the most economical of the day) and dismissing Cameron Delport for a duck to give the Titans early control in the final game of the day, against the Dolphins.

But Morne van Wyk, who was only dismissed once yesterday in scoring 113 runs off 30 balls, hit four sixes in his 31 retired and Khaya Zondo made 35 retired off nine balls to take the Dolphins to a competitive 97 for one.

But Davids (35) and De Bruyn (33) each plundered five sixes before retiring with the bulk of the chase done, Wiese scoring 22 not out off five balls to steer the Titans home with four deliveries to spare.

The Titans now need to win just one of their two matches today to book their place in the Franchise Challenge final.

Scores in brief

Cape Cobras 72-5 (Richard Levi 20, Justin Ontong 20*; Malusi Siboto 1-8, Shadley van Schalkwyk 2-9). Knights 67-3 (Dillon du Preez 21, Werner Coetsee 22*; Stiaan van Zyl 1-7). Cape Cobras won by 5 runs.

Warriors 87-2 (Colin Ingram 36*, Jon-Jon Smuts 24). Titans 90-1 (Henry Davids 32*, Theunis de Bruyn 33*, Farhaan Behardien 23). Titans won by 5 wickets.

Highveld Lions 83-4 (Shaylen Pillay 55*; Khaya Zondo 3-10). Dolphins 72-5 (Morne van Wyk 28, Khaya Zondo 24*; Chris Morris 1-8, Pumelela Matshikwe 2-10). Highveld Lions won by 11 runs.

Cape Cobras 84-2 (Richard Levi 32*, Justin Ontong 25*; Ryan Bailey 2-12). Warriors 89-0 (Colin Ingram 34*, Christiaan Jonker 22*, Ryan Bailey 30*). Warriors won by 6 wickets.

Titans 99-1 (Theunis de Bruyn 34*, Farhaan Behardien 27*, David Wiese 25*; Dwaine Pretorius 1-10). Highveld Lions 91-5 (Chris Morris 53; Henry Davids 2-7). Titans won by 8 runs.

Dolphins 120-3 (Morne van Wyk 54*, Cameron Delport 35*, Keshav Maharaj 20; Werner Coetsee 2-20). Knights 95-1 (Reeza Hendricks 36*, Dillon du Preez 20, Werner Coetsee 32*). Dolphins won by 25 runs.

Cape Cobras 113-3 (Stiaan van Zyl 31*, Richard Levi 35*, Dane Vilas 34*). Highveld Lions 109-1 (Chris Morris 34*, Shaylen Pillay 33*, Brian Barnard 20*). Cape Cobras won by 4 runs.

Dolphins 97-1 (Morne van Wyk 31*, Robbie Frylinck 21*, Khaya Zondo 35*; David Wiese 1-4). Titans 101-1 (Henry Davids 35*, Theunis de Bruyn 33*, David Wiese 22*). Titans won by 5 wickets.

Today’s fixtures: 10h00 Warriors v Knights; 10h50 Dolphins v Cobras; 11h40 Knights v Titans; 12h30 Warriors v Lions; 13h20 Titans v Cobras; 14h10 Warriors v Dolphins; 15h00 Knights v Lions; 16h10 Franchise Sixes final.

Compared to the efforts of his team-mates, Janneman Malan’s exploits on the South Africa U19 tour of England in August might have them considering erecting a statue in his honour at Waterkloof High School in Pretoria.

Malan was the only obvious success story to come out of a tour in which the SA U19s failed to win a game. The strong performance of the first four-day youth test, which was drawn, gradually gave way to a series of disappointing performances, especially by the batsmen.

Malan, however, batted superbly, passing 50 in six successive matches on tour, before being run out for 3 in the final ODI.

The optimism of the first two days of the series, when South Africa scored 433 in the first youth test at Fenners, Cambridge, thanks to Grant Roelofsen’s 149, and then reduced England to 199 for six, was in stark contrast to the end of the tour, with Lawrence Mahatlane’s new-look team suffering a 5-0 whitewash in the limited-overs games.

The determination of the English lower-order saw them save the first test and the frailties of the South African batting line-up then became apparent in the second test as they were bundled out for just 77 in their first innings in Northampton.

But with Hanco Olivier showing his mettle in batting for five hours in scoring 79 not out and Malan making 55 in three hours, South Africa were able to save the game and draw the test series as the fourth and final day was entirely washed out.

Malan, who scored 83 in the second innings of the first test, continued his brilliant run by making 56, 76, 52 and 51 in the first four ODIs, but his efforts were in vain as England took the spoils every time.

Keith Dudgeon sparked a late comeback by taking five wickets in the first ODI at Edgbaston, but South Africa had only posted an insufficient 227 and lost by two wickets with four balls to spare.

It was the closest match of the series as South Africa’s junior internationals were given the mother and father of hidings thereafter, twice in Nottingham and once each in Leicester and Derby.

The hosts won the toss in all five ODIs and certainly made it count, opening batsman Haseeb Hameed starting the series with two scores of 97 and then making 125 in the decisive third ODI; while number three Tom Alsop made a century in the second game and 57 in the third.

Pacemen Luke Wood, Josh Shaw and Will Rhodes were a handful for the SA U19 batsmen throughout the tour.

Assupol Tuks took their dominance of South African club and universities cricket for the last three years on to a global stage at the end of July as they won the Red Bull Campus Cricket World Finals at the Oval in London.

For Aiden Markram and Corbin Bosch, it was their second World Cup triumph of the year, following their victory with the South Africa U19 team at the ICC Junior World Cup in the United Arab Emirates in March. The Campus Cricket World Finals are effectively a Varsity T20 World Cup, with the student champions from eight nations taking part.

While Markram and Bosch, and other star players such as Theunis de Bruyn, Vincent Moore and Heinrich Klaasen all enjoyed excellent tournaments for Tuks, their heroes in the crucial knockout stage were two of their lesser-known players, Johan Wessels and Ruben Claassen.

Tuks had breezed into the semi-finals by beating Bangladesh’s University of the Liberal Arts, hosts Leeds Bradford MCCU and the Jamaica Inter-Collegiate Sports Association, but they had their hands full when they took on defending champions Rizvi College of Mumbai in the final four.

Rizvi had won the toss and elected to bat first, and had cruised to 83 for two in the 12^th over before Tuks regained control through spinners Claassen and David Mogotlane.

Lanky off-spinner Claassen produced a brilliant spell of 4-1-10-2, with Mogotlane adding pressure with four overs for just 20 runs, and the Indian team’s lower-order then collapsed to the canny death bowling of Bosch (2-26) and Moore to finish on 122 for nine.

The Tuks run-chase had an anxious start openers Markram and Gerry Pike were out in the first three overs, before De Bruyn (31) and Wessels steadied the innings with a third-wicket stand of 54 in 7.2 overs.

But the loss of three wickets in quick succession, including captain De Bruyn, meant Tuks were under pressure at 90 for five after 15 overs.

But Klaasen (18* off 12) and the inspired Wessels (56* off 52) mounted a rousing comeback that took Tuks home in the 20th over.

In the final, the Tuks total of 188 for six against the Jamaica Inter-Collegiate Sports Association was built around a ferocious 61 off 40 balls from Wessels.

Pacemen Moore and Bosch then shared seven wickets as the Jamaicans were restricted to 148 for nine in their 20 overs.

Much of the hard work, however, was done by the outstanding Claassen, who took one for 10 in four overs.

Markram, who finished as the tournament’s second highest run-scorer behind De Bruyn, had given the Tuks innings a good start, after they had won the toss, with his 33 off 26 balls, but Wessels, who has no first-class experience nor national U19 caps, kept the scoreboard ticking over and then accelerated brilliantly as the University of Pretoria students posted a formidable total.

Dickson scored 39 off 31 balls to finish the job, while Tian Koekemoer and Bosch provided important cameos right at the death.

Coach Pierre de Bruyn was full of praise for Wessels, the 22-year-old who was superb on finals day, and Claassen.

“It’s the guys without the reputations who really stood up on the final day. Joe Wessels is proving to be a very good player, he played two magnificent innings in the knockout games and I’m ecstatic for him. I used him as a bit of a wildcard and he’s really impressed me as a cricketer.

“Ruben out-bowled everybody in the tournament, including the spinners from the sub-continent. He and Corbin Bosch were the top two wicket-takers and Ruben has improved so much. He’s unique, he’s tall, he gets bounce and he’s not scared to experiment,” De Bruyn said.

While Wessels was named man of the match in both the semi-final and final, Theunis de Bruyn was selected as the Player of the Tournament, having set the tone for Tuks’ triumph with a phenomenal 137 not out off 60 balls against the Bangladeshis on the opening day.

“We’ve had three years of dominance in South Africa and now we wanted to represent our country and measure ourselves on the world stage. I’m over the moon to be able to say we are the best university cricket team in the world, but we worked for it,” coach De Bruyn said.

“We planned for everything and we proved ourselves to everyone. I’m proud of the success and the culture of this team, and nobody can take that away from this side.”