Tony de Zorzi is looking to take his cricket to the next level while part of the National Academy squad at the CSA High-Performance Centre.

By his own admission, the past season left room for improvement, despite making his franchise debut for the Titans.

De Zorzi feels that an all-around improvement in his batting is required if he is to build on a season that saw him play in 7 of 11 One Day Cup matches for the Titans, but only manage a top score of 41.

‘Obviously my time with the Titans was very tough for me personally,’ he explained. ‘We won a few trophies, but I didn’t contribute too many runs.’

‘So just coming here, obviously I want to take my batting to the next level, both mentally and physically, I want to get into shape and just use the time here to get more knowledge from coach Malibongwe Maketa and the other coaches that come in,’ he added.

De Zorzi expressed the desire to become more consistent at franchise level through the lessons learned from his time with the National Academy, to better prepare him for the rigours of franchise cricket.

‘I just want to try and learn and try to get myself franchise-ready as quickly as possible,’ he said.

De Zorzi feels that the success of players such as Jason Smith and Andile Phehlukwayo, who have represented South Africa A and the Proteas respectively, is proof enough that the National Academy Programme breeds success.

‘It shows you that it obviously works. If people come here with the right attitude and right mindset to make it work for you, then it can be really successful,’ De Zorzi said.

The Men’s National Academy Programme runs until the end of July.