• Powerade Academy revamped to three-year cycle

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    On Friday, Cricket South Africa announced a revamped programme for the Powerade National Men’s Academy that will see the selected squad being involved in a three-year cycle rather than the current one-year cycle.

    ‘The Powerade National Academy Programme forms a very strategic part of our developmental pipeline and has as its aim to prepare young players for the demands of professional cricket,’ commented CSA general manager of cricket Corrie van Zyl.

    ‘These selected players that are carefully identified include previous graduates of the SA U19 programme, performing senior provincial and emerging franchise players.

    ‘The new three-year cycle will be introduced with immediate effect during the 2018-19 season. This will include head coach Shukri Conrad determining a specific program for each player in conjunction with the player’s franchise or provincial coach, post the personal development plan (PDP) meeting with each player.

    ‘There will be a minimum of 15 players in the Academy Squad, who will also form the SA Emerging Players Touring Squad, and the squad may be added to at any time as new talent is identified or as players are promoted to the SA A squad by the national selection panel (NSP),’ concluded Van Zyl.

    ‘Powerade is an avid supporter of sports in South Africa and is a proud partner of Cricket South Africa as the official hydration partner to the Proteas,’ added Kamini Redhi, senior brand manager of advanced hydration.

    ‘Together with Cricket South Africa, Powerade is committed to providing young South African cricketers with the means to achieve their performance goals through the academy. We are incredibly excited about the young cricketing talent that will pass through the academy and are proud to be playing our part in their development,’ added Redhi.

    The revamped programme will run as follows:

    • Specialised camps in and out of season for various cricket disciplines will be held at the Centre of Excellence (CoE)
    • Individual intervention coaching and monitoring visits at franchise or member level
    • Player development plan progress evaluation in conjunction with the franchise or senior provincial coach and player
    • Two-week preparatory camps prior to any in-or-outbound tour
    • Two-week induction camp for all players once a year

    The NSP has, in conjunction with CSA’s High Performance Centre Coaches, selected the following squad of players for the first three-year cycle that runs until September 2021:

    Powerade National Academy Squad
    Tladi Bokako (Cape Cobras)
    Eathan Bosch (Dolphins)
    Matthew Breetzke (Warriors)
    Nandre Burger (Highveld Lions)
    Tony de Zorzi (Titans)
    Tshepang Dithole (Highveld Lions)
    Bjorn Fortuin (Highveld Lions)
    Sibonelo Makhanya (Dolphins)
    Wandile Makwetu (Titans)
    Janneman Malan (Cape Cobras)
    Sinethemba Qeshile (Warriors)
    Kyle Simmonds (Cape Cobras)
    Lutho Sipamla (Warriors)
    Jason Smith (Cape Cobras)
    Raynard van Tonder (Knights)

    Photo: Cricket South Africa

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