All-rounder Matthew Montgomery will captain South Africa U19 during their tour of India later this year.

The tour will run from 16 February to 12 March – and include four youth Tests and four ODIs.

Montgomery recently led the Dolphins to victory at the CSA Franchise Cubs Week in Stellenbosch. The champions only lost one match, to the Warriors.

Montgomery was the tournament’s third-highest run-scorer, with 256. He struck two half-centuries and averaged 64.

‘This is a very talented and well-balanced team and we are looking forward to seeing what they can do as a unit. We have some exciting young players like the new captain Montgomery whom we believe will do well working with experienced campaigners such as Andile Mogakane, Gerald Coetzee and Kgaudise Molefe, who all have World Cup experience after participating in last year’s tournament in New Zealand,’ said convenor of selectors Victor Mpitsang.

‘India is one of the toughest places for any team to tour, and the conditions will test our players in ways that many of them have never experienced, but we are confident that we have selected the right team for the job.

‘The vast majority of the players selected qualify to represent South Africa in the World Cup next year, so them getting as much game time as possible as we draw closer to the tournament is of vital importance while we still look at all of our selection options. On behalf of the selection panel, I wish coach Lawrence Mahatlane and the team all the best, and we hope to see some good results come from the tour.’

Squad: Matthew Montgomery (captain, Dolphins), Luke Beaufort (Warriors), Jonathan Bird (Cape Cobras), Achille Cloete (Cape Cobras), Gerald Coetzee (Knights), Marco Jansen (Highveld Lions), Thamsanqa Khumalo (Dolphins), Bonga Makaka (Cape Cobras), Andile Mogakane (Dolphins), Kgaudise Molefe (Highveld Lions), Lifa Ntanzi (Dolphins), Bryce Parsons (Highveld Lions), Siya Plaatjie (Cape Cobras), Ruan Terblanche (Cape Cobras), Nonelela Yikha (Warriors).

Photo: Gallo