Ken Borland

Seven years ago Sipho Potsane was your typical Alexandra township 10-year-old, crazy about soccer. Now 17 years old, he is contemplating playing in the U19 Cricket World Cup, which will be hosted in South Africa, starting in January.

The dramatic transformation in Potsane’s life is a testament to the work of the Central Gauteng Lions union’s pipeline; their work is not just about ensuring the DP World Lions men’s and women’s teams remain amongst the strongest in the country, but also about making sure that success is sustainable by growing the game at grassroots.

It is something CEO Jono Leaf-Wright is passionate about and he is not the sort of leader who limits his role to shuffling papers and editing spreadsheets in his Wanderers office; he is out there getting his hands dirty and there is a sense of urgency when it comes to his efforts to uplift all the people who the great game of cricket touches in Gauteng.

Potsane is an up-and-coming left-arm spinner and Leaf-Wright, who has a Level III coaching qualification, remembers their first meeting well.

“At 10 years old, Sipho was a big soccer boy and he had no clue about cricket. But we saw when we brought cricket to his school that he could throw, catch and hit the ball. After a lot of nutritional work and extra coaching, he was given a bursary to Jeppe and is now playing for the SA U19s and has been named in the squad for their World Cup.

“He was a talent we discovered in Grade V and we and the other parties involved embarked on a journey then to make sure that he succeeded in making the best of that talent.

“Cricket is not being played much any more in township schools, but the Lions pipeline reintroduced them to the game. It’s a real challenge though because they don’t have fields, so they are playing cricket in corridors and car parks.

“Sipho’s wonderful story shows how our pipeline can get kids playing cricket at a higher level. And that pipeline is only going to get stronger thanks to the new pipeline sub-committee of the Central Gauteng Board that has been created by our new president, Dr Mohammed Moosajee, who was the Proteas manager for so long,” Leaf-Wright said.

Karabo Meso is a player who has already announced herself at a Junior World Cup, being named in the ICC’s team of the tournament after the T20 event also hosted by South Africa in Benoni and Potchefstroom in January 2023.

The wicketkeeper/batter was a resident of Rockville in Soweto when she was introduced to the game through the KFC Mini-Cricket programme and it was not long at all before the Central Gauteng Lions spotted her talent. She was playing for the DP World Lions senior provincial team before her teens.

Meso was one of three players included in the girls SA U19 squad that came from a Gauteng township, the others being captain Oluhle Siyo and Refilwe Moncho of Soweto Pioneers.

“It all starts at grassroots and we are grateful for the support from our partners,” Reuben Mandlazi, the Lions Amateur Cricket Manager, says. “There are 124 schools in Gauteng that play cricket, 94 of them are high schools. And the Lions have 26 teams at various national weeks this year.

“Infrastructure is what distinguishes a lot of these schools though, that’s the great challenge. It’s something township schools don’t have. We at the Lions ensure that we create an environment that enables us to spread the game. We make sure the children are well-transported, kitted and coached.

“A strong Lions means a strong Proteas and if we don’t have strong schools programmes then that will impact that. We ensure that we have sustainable programmes that feed into making us a world-class brand,” Mandlazi said.

Words alone will of course not accelerate the development of all the talent in the province, neither will one-off, showy gestures for good PR. Fortunately, those accusations can never be levelled at the Central Gauteng Lions union. Their success at age-group level and their thriving club leagues make sure of that.

“We need to bridge the gap between U19s and the Lions teams, not everyone can be like Kagiso Rabada or Quinton de Kock and just make a straight jump to senior level,” Mandlazi says.

“The players are all on their own journey and we have to ensure there is a platform for them. We have the strongest club leagues in South Africa, that is one of the most important things, and our Macrocomm, Enza and Black Widow leagues are that platform for the players.”

That the Central Gauteng Lions boast a premier pipeline is borne out by their results in the various national weeks in December. Lions Cricket were the champions in both the U16 Girls and the U19 Boys weeks, while they finished third in the U16 Boys and U19 Girls tournaments.

As champions of the Khaya Majola Week in Makhanda (Grahamstown), the Lions also dominated selection for the SA Schools side with three players in Richard Seletswane, Kwena Maphaka and Esosa Aihevba.

Luke Francis and Potsane were named in the SA Colts team.

In the U19 girls week, Meso made the SA Schools side, not only making the opposition chase leather in the field, but her wicketkeeping was also of the finest quality.

Which epitomises the Central Gauteng Lions pipeline, ensuring durable success for the Pride of Jozi.

South Africa have made it through to the quarterfinals of the U19 Cricket World Cup in the West Indies but are obviously going to have to be at their best to avoid elimination as they take on one of the most impressive teams in the competition in England, at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium at North Sound, Antigua, on Wednesday.

With Dewald Brevis stealing the limelight in the first couple of games, it was encouraging to see the other Junior Proteas batsmen start to come to the party in the win over Ireland, which was basically a knockout fixture.

Brevis still made 96, but there was a tremendous century by captain George van Heerden and some brilliant late hitting by all-rounders Mickey Copeland and Andile Simelane.

But South Africa are going to need to repeat a similar batting effort against a stronger England attack that is led by a potent left-arm paceman in Joshua Boyden, while leggie Rehan Ahmed will test their abilities against spin.

While the rampant Brevis is the leading run-scorer in the tournament so far with 265 in three innings, England captain Tom Prest has roared to 251 runs.

He generally bats No.3 for England and South Africa have two ferocious fast bowlers in Liam Alder and Matthew Boast, who will want to get Prest in against the swinging new ball.

England, of course, are able to throw some serious cash at their U19 programme, but what the South Africans lack in Rands, they have been making up for in enthusiasm.

But for those wanting to take a punt on the outcome, bookmakers have installed England as the 1.6-1 favourites.

But much depends on Brevis.

“What works for you, you must stick with that,” Brevis, a major Bangalore Royal Challengers fan because his two favourite players – AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli – play for them, said when asked how he would be approaching the knockout encounter.

South Africa have twice been runners-up in the U19 Cricket World Cup but will be aiming to go all the way this year when the tournament gets underway in Queensland, Australia, on August 11.

South Africa finished second in 2001/02 and 2007/08 in a tournament that has been dominated by three-time winners Australia, Pakistan and India, who have both claimed the title twice. Sub-continent teams have traditionally been tough to beat and Ray Jennings’ charges have been drawn in the same group as Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Jennings, a vastly experienced coach at junior level, certainly did not over-state his team’s chances when he spoke to supersport.com at the High Performance Centre in Pretoria on Wednesday.

“You never really know how good cricketers are when they’re 18 or 19, so it’s very difficult to say how good our team is. I know how volatile the U19 picture is around the world and the tournament is very unpredictable. Six or seven teams have a chance to win and it’s all about how we handle the pressure on the day,” Jennings said.

While Jennings is satisfied that his team has the talent to go that one step further than their predecessors, it all depends on what sort of conviction they take to the field.

“Consistency is the big issue and that’s because you’re dealing with guys who haven’t totally matured yet. But we played Pakistan, who have beaten everyone else in the world, in January and we were 3-2 up in the series going into the final game, scored 280 and lost on the final ball. So according to that, we can definitely win the tournament,” Jennings said.

It’s also encouraging that Pakistan have just beaten Australia at home in a warm-up series, but the SA U19s have suffered a major blow before their departure for Queensland with an injury to fast bowler Rabian Engelbrecht, the only member of their squad who has previously played in a Junior World Cup.

“Rabian has a lower back strain and it’s not looking good. I’ll have to give him a fitness test before we leave tomorrow, but our most experienced player may well be out,” Jennings said wistfully.

The best known member of the team is hard-hitting Highveld Lions wicketkeeper/batsman Quinton de Kock and Jennings called for greater application from the prodigiously-talented U19 Cricketer of the Year.

“In terms of his talent and ability, Quinton has not had the returns he should have. He’s done very well for his franchise and he’s a highly-skilled, quality cricketer who is able to turn games. But he needs to come to the party for us in the big games. He also needs to work harder on his wicketkeeping, which is merely adequate at U19 level,” the renowned hard-taskmaster said.

There will be no easy introduction into the tournament either for South Africa, with Bangladesh their first opponents on August 12.

“Bangladesh are very difficult to beat, they’re a lot better at U19 level than their senior team is. In fact, the sub-continent teams have always been a problem for us, they’re very moody and unpredictable, with strange types of players that are very different to what the guys normally come up against. And we’ve lost to Sri Lanka three out of the last four times we’ve played them. It’s the death pool with only two of us qualifying for the quarterfinals,” Jennings warned.

Namibia are the other team in South Africa’s group and the minnow neighbours should be seen off without too much difficulty, although the shock defeat to Nepal in 2005/06 will ensure the Junior Proteas are not complacent.

“We have a great team, we’ve had lots of preparation, we’ve bonded well and the team dynamics are good. It’s a huge opportunity for us to showcase our skills on the world stage and we have the potential to take on and match any side,” Chad Bowes, the captain, said.

http://www.supersport.com/cricket/under19-world-cup/news/120801/SA_U19s_looking_to_go_one_better