Tag: Linda Zondi

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Kyle Simmonds Crowned Overall Division 1 SACA MVP

The 2025/26 domestic cricket season concludes with Western Province all-rounder Kyle Simmonds named Division 1 Overall SACA MVP. Simmonds earned…

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Liam Alder Named Overall SACA MVP for Domestic Division 2

Following the completion of all domestic fixtures, Liam Alder of the Garden Route Badgers finished at the top of the…

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TWELVE YEARS OF RESEARCH-BASED PLAYER SERVICE

Over the past 12 years, the South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA) has cemented its dedication to evidence-based practice through a…

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HAMZA CALLED UP FOR PAKISTAN TEST SERIES

Zubayr Hamza, the 23-year-old World Sports Betting Cape Cobras batsman, has been named as a potential new cap in the Standard Bank Proteas squad for the three-match Test series against Pakistan which starts at SuperSport Park, Centurion, on December 26.

The other matches will be played at PPC Newlands from January 3 and at the Bidvest Wanderers from January 11.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) announced a 13-man squad for the series today that also features the return of VKB Knights fast bowler Duanne Olivier in place of the injured Lungi Ngidi. Olivier was part of the squad for the previous home Test series against Australia and has represented the Proteas in five Test matches.

“Zubayr has been one of the standout cricketers in domestic cricket over the past year and carried that form into South Africa A tour to India where he averaged over 50 in the four-day series against tough opposition and under tough conditions,” commented CSA National Selection Panel (NSP) convener Linda Zondi.

“Before that, he had an outstanding season in the four-day franchise competition where he scored 823 runs, including three centuries, at the impressive average of 69.

“His selection is part of our vision for the future as we start to feed new players into the system. It is inevitable that some of our senior players will start thinking of retiring in years to come and it is vital that we have a good succession plan in place,” explained Mr Zondi.

“As unfortunate as Lungi’s injury is we are blessed to have outstanding depth in our fast bowling resources. Duanne has impressed on his previous appearances for the Proteas and has had a good franchise season to date with 20 wickets in his five matches at an average of 22.80.

“Tladi Bokako will work with the squad as a learning experience during the series in a continuation of the initiative we started with Kagiso Rabada and continued with Matthew Breetzke earlier in the season. He has had a good debut season for the Cape Cobras with 21 wickets at 26.33 to date.

“We will continue to identify young players with the potential to become future Proteas,” concluded Mr Zondi.

If Hamza gains selection in the final XI he will become the 100th player to represent the Proteas in the five-day format.

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MARKRAM TO LEAD SA INVITATION XI AGAINST BANGLADESH

Multiply Titans  Aiden Markram will lead the South Africa Invitation XI to play Bangladesh in a three-day tour match at Sahara Park Willowmoore from 21 – 23 September 2017.

“We have chosen a squad consisting largely of CSA Academy players balanced by a few franchise players to provide the necessary experience,” commented CSA National Selection Panel Convener Linda Zondi.

SA Invitation XI squad: Aiden Markram (Multiply Titans, capt), Tladi Bokako (Warriors), Okuhle Cele (KZN), Matthew Christensen (EP), Michael Cohen (WP), Isaac Dikgale (North West), Zubayr Hamza (WSB Cape Cobras), Heinrich Klaasen (Multiply Titans), Migael Pretorius (Northerns), Yaseen Valli (Gauteng), Shaun von Berg (Multiply Titans), Lwandiswa Zuma (Hollywoodbets Dolphins)

Management team: Russell Domingo (head coach), Richard das Neves (assistant coach), Molebatsi Teletsane (physiotherapist), Nandile Tyali (fitness trainer), Abram Ndhlovu (video analyst)

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DU PLESSIS TO MISS OPENING TEST

Standard Bank Proteas test captain, Faf du Plessis will miss the opening Test against England at Lord’s to remain with his wife after the birth of their first child. Dean Elgar will stand in as captain, leading South Africa for the first time.

Du Plessis will rejoin the squad later in the week to prepare for the second Test at Trent Bridge which begins on July 14.

In du Plessis’ absence, South Africa look set to pick Theunis de Bruyn ahead of newcomer Aiden Markram, who was included in the squad as cover for du Plessis. De Bruyn was preferred over Markram in the tour match at New Road last week, and made his debut in South Africa’s most recent Test against New Zealand after Stephen Cook was dropped from the opening berth. De Bruyn scored 12 runs in the match and selection convener Linda Zondi confirmed that when the batsman was reconsidered for a Test spot it would not be as an opener. This is, therefore, an opportunity to blood him in the middle order.

“Theunis played the one Test match in New Zealand. There’s been a sense of fairness to players,” Russell Domingo, South Africa’s coach, said. “We haven’t really discarded a player after one Test match, or two or three innings. At the moment he would be ahead in the pecking order, ahead of a guy like Aiden.”

Even if Markram is made to wait, South Africa will still have at least one newcomer to the XI come Thursday. Heino Kuhn is set to partner stand-in skipper Elgar at the top of the order which means half of South Africa’s top four will be fairly inexperienced. Hashim Amla, with 103 Test caps, will bat at No.3 with Temba Bavuma and JP Duminy at No.5 and 6 respectively.

South Africa can call on seniority in the bowling department, though. Vernon Philander was passed fit after sustaining an ankle injury during a county stint at Sussex. His availability was particularly pleasing to Domingo, who regards Philander as among the tougher prospects for batsmen.

“Vernon is a fantastic bowler for us. He is probably the hardest bowler to face in our side and when he is not there, we tend to struggle a little but because he gives us that control but also gives us the cutting edge if there is something in the wicket and also balances our side with his batting. He is a fantastic cricketer.”

Philander will form part of a three-pronged pack alongside Kagiso Rabada and Morne Morkel. Duanne Olivier, Chris Morris and Andile Phehlukwayo are the reserves.

With the focus on the make-up of their own XI as they “try to find out what the best combination is,” as Domingo put it, South Africa have not spent too much time weighing up their opposition. Like South Africa, England are under a new captain in Joe Root – although his is a permanent appointment – and Domingo suggested his side would look to a test a top order which continues to be juggled around.

“We haven’t looked too closely at their side. Ben Stokes, Joe Root, Alastair Cook, Stuart Broad, James Anderson are five seriously experienced players who are all match winners in their own right. They are a good side but they’ve also got some uncertainties,” Domingo said. “There’s a new opening batter in Keaton Jennings who has only played a handful of Tests and Gary Ballance has come back into the side. There are certain areas where they may be a little uncertain about that we want to expose.”

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CSA ANNOUNCE ICC CHAMPIONS TROPHY SQUAD

Left-arm spinner, Keshav Maharaj, has earned his maiden One-Day International (ODI) call-up to the 15-man Standard Bank Proteas squad for the ICC Champions Trophy, which was announced on Wednesday.

The squad will play three ODI’s against England starting with the first match at Headingley in Leeds on May 24th, before their first group match of the ICC Champions Trophy against Sri Lanka at the Oval on June 3.

The 26-year-old Maharaj has had an impressive debut season for the Test squad and comes into the squad to bolster the spin options alongside Imran Tahir.

Morne Morkel makes a return to the limited-overs format after nearly 10 months, adding experience to the pace bowling group featuring Kagiso Rabada, Wayne Parnell, Chris Morris, Dwaine Pretorius and Andile Phehlukwayo.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) convener of selectors, Linda Zondi, says the selectors have picked a strong squad which covers all of the combinations and conditions on offer for the eighth edition of the eight-team event. “We have been working with this group of players for the last two seasons where our key emphasis has been consistency in selection,” Zondi commented. “That has shown in how this group has performed over the last while, which has resulted in winning three consecutive ODI series.

“We feel we have a squad that covers every scenario that we could possibly be faced with on the tour. Most importantly, every player knows and understands their role and value within the squad.

“Keshav has had an exceptional debut season for the Test side and his inclusion in the squad gives us a spinner with different skills and extra batting depth. We have seen how important it is to bat deep in ODI cricket, this option will give us that cover if needed.” 

The squad will depart for England on May 16 and will begin their preparations with two 50-over tour matches against Sussex and Northants.
Standard Bank Proteas ODI squad for three-match ODI series against England and ICC Champions Trophy: Hashim Amla (BuildNat Cape Cobras), Quinton de Kock – wk (Multiply Titans), Faf du Plessis (Multiply Titans), AB de Villiers – captain (Multiply Titans), JP Duminy (BuildNat Cape Cobras), David Miller (VKB Knights), Chris Morris (Multiply Titans),  Wayne Parnell (BuildNat Cape Cobras), Andile Phehlukwayo (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Kagiso Rabada (bizhub Highveld Lions), Imran Tahir (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Dwaine Pretorius (bizhub Highveld Lions), Keshav Maharaj (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Farhaan Behardien (Multiply Titans), Morne Morkel (Multiply Titans).

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SHAMZI NAMED IN PROTEAS ODI SQUAD

 

Tabraiz Shamsi today was named as a new cap in the Proteas ODI squad for the triangular series in the Caribbean next month against hosts, the West Indies, and Australia.

The Unlimited Titans 26-year-old left-arm wrist spinner will become the 116th player to represent the Proteas in the 50 overs format.

“We have opted for three specialist spinners as we anticipate the pitches in the Caribbean to be on the slow side,” commented CSA selection committee convener, Linda Zondi. “Tabraiz has certainly earned his call-up following outstanding form both in our domestic cricket and in some of the major domestic T20 leagues including the Caribbean Premier League.

“He has shown what he can do in the T20 leagues against international batsmen. I am quite excited about the state of our spin bowling and the variety we have. We are sending two wrist spinners to the Caribbean plus left-arm and right-arm finger spin options. Spin bowling is becoming an increasingly important part of both limited overs formats and we are only just over a year away from the ICC Champions Trophy Tournament in England.

“In the short term our immediate focus must be to get back among the top ranked Test nations and for this reason we are resting Dale Steyn for this tour. He is vital to our ambitions in the longest format and he is going to have a heavy workload in the months ahead with home and away series against New Zealand, a home series against Sri Lanka and an away Test series in Australia which is where we need to perform,” explained Zondi. “He is certainly not out of the ODI picture and could well feature in the home series against Australia later this year.”

Wayne Parnell returns to the Proteas ODI squad for the first time since last year’s ICC World Cup in Australasia. “Wayne has the ability to become a quality all-rounder for us and, like Tabraiz, he is being rewarded for outstanding domestic form,” concluded Zondi.

Faf du Plessis has been included in the squad despite the current injury to his finger, and is expected to return to action for the Proteas’ second match of the triangular series. Proteas team manager, Dr Mohammed Moosajee explained:

“Faf sustained a broken left ring finger during the IPL two weeks ago and had fixation surgery to repair the bone tip this Tuesday in Cape Town. The surgery was a success and we are expecting a period of between four to five weeks for a full recovery. At this stage we are targeting for him to return to action for our second ODI against Australia on June 7.”

Proteas ODI squad: AB de Villiers (The Unlimited Titans, capt), Kyle Abbott (Warriors), Hashim Amla (Cape Cobras), Farhaan Behardien (The Unlimited Titans), Quinton de Kock (The Unlimited Titans), JP Duminy (Cape Cobras), Faf du Plessis (The Unlimited Titans), Imran Tahir (Sunfoil Dolphins), Morne Morkel (The Unlimited Titans), Chris Morris (The Unlimited Titans), Wayne Parnell (Cape Cobras), Aaron Phangiso (bizhub Highveld Lions), Kagiso Rabada (bizhub Highveld Lions), Rilee Rossouw (VKB Knights), Tabraiz Shamsi (The Unlimited Titans).

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PROTEAS ICC WORLD T20 SQUAD ANNOUNCED

 

Cricket South Africa’s (CSA) National Selection Panel on Wednesday named the 15-man Oxigen Proteas squad to compete at the ICC World Twenty20 to be played in India next month.

Rilee Rossouw and David Wiese, who missed the India series through injury, return to the squad, as does Aaron Phangiso who has been preferred to Eddie Leie as the second specialist spin bowling option.

Dale Steyn also makes a return to the squad, although his inclusion is subject to his being passed fit. Steyn was rested for the Proteas’ previous T20 assignment away to India and injury has prevented him from playing much international cricket since then.

 

The 15-man squad will also do duty in the upcoming KFC T20 International Series to be played against England and Australia during the course of the next four weeks.

 

“We have a lot of experience in this group with 10 of the players having played in the last World Twenty20 in 2014, also on the sub-continent,” commented Cricket South Africa (CSA) selection convener, Linda Zondi.

 

“The inclusion of Aaron means that we have all our spin bowling options covered with he, Imran Tahir and JP Duminy offering the different varieties. Left-arm spin bowlers tend to play big roles under Indian conditions.

 

“Dale’s return is very good news,” he added.  “He brings tremendous experience and leadership to the team, not to mention his skills as the outstanding fast bowler of his generation.”

 

Proteas coach, Russell Domingo, says the upcoming series against England and Australia will be a good opportunity for the squad to fine-tune their preparation ahead of the tournament.

 

“We take some confidence from our T20 series wins against Bangladesh and India and kept relatively the same players who have had success on the sub-continent,” Domingo said. “We have been playing good T20 cricket of late and this is our opportunity to showcase our skills at a World event. The upcoming T20 series’ against England and Australia will be the ideal platform for us to fine-tune some combinations and to hopefully gain some winning confidence ahead of the tournament next month.

 

“We are in a tough group in the tournament with England, West Indies, Sri Lanka and a qualifier. All of the top six teams on the world rankings have the skill and ability to lift the trophy so it’s a completely open competition with high stakes.” Oxigen Proteas T20 captain, Faf du Plessis, says the squad is motivated and hungry to do well in the competition.

 

“The ICC World T20 is the competition that we have been working towards over the last 18 months,” he said. “We have had disappointments in the past and this year is another great opportunity for us to lift that elusive ICC trophy. We have been playing together as a squad for some time now and are really hungry and motivated to put in the performances to bring us success. I’m really excited about the group of players who will be representing the country and hope we can make everyone proud.”

 

 

Oxigen Proteas T20 squad: Faf du Plessis (The Unlimited Titans, capt), Kyle Abbott (Sunfoil Dolphins), Hashim Amla (Cape Cobras), Farhaan Behardien (The Unlimited Titans), Quinton de Kock (The Unlimited Titans), AB de Villiers (The Unlimited Titans), JP Duminy (Cape Cobras), Imran Tahir (Sunfoil Dolphins), David Miller (Sunfoil Dolphins), Chris Morris (The Unlimited Titans), Aaron Phangiso (bizhub Highveld Lions), Kagiso Rabada (bizhub Highveld Lions), Rilee Rossouw (VKB Knights), Dale Steyn (Cape Cobras), David Wiese (The Unlimited Titans)

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PROTEAS TESTS AND ODI SQUADS NAMED

Cricket South Africa (CSA) today named an unchanged Castle Lager Proteas squad for the remaining two Sunfoil Series Test matches against England as well as a 14-man squad for the five-match Momentum ODI Series.

“We were highly encouraged by the performance put up by the Proteas at PPC Newlands,” commented CSA selection convener, Linda Zondi. “The very fact that they were nearly able to force a win after conceding 600 runs on the first innings speaks volumes for the character of this group of players.

“We feel we have all our bases covered and also the options that will enable the team to exploit whatever conditions they encounter at the Bidvest Wanderers Stadium and at SuperSport Park.”

With the ODI squad reduced from 15 to 14 Aaron Phangiso drops out from the squad that won their most recent series in India.

Rilee Rossouw, an original selection against India but forced to withdraw through injury, is fit to take his place again.

 

Castle Lager Proteas Test squad: AB de Villiers (The Unlimited Titans, capt), Kyle Abbott (Sunfoil Dolphins), Hashim Amla (Cape Cobras), Temba Bavuma (bizhub Highveld Lions), Quinton de Kock (The Unlimited Titans), JP Duminy (Cape Cobras), Faf du Plessis (the Unlimited Titans), Dean Elgar (The Unlimited Titans), Morne Morkel (The Unlimited Titans), Chris Morris (The Unlimited Titans), Dane Piedt (Cape Cobras), Kagiso Rabada (bizhub Highveld Lions), Rilee Rossouw (VKB Knights), Dale Steyn (Cape Cobras), Stiaan van Zyl (Cape Cobras), Hardus Viljoen (bizhub Highveldl Lions).

 

Castle Lager Proteas ODI squad: AB de Villiers (The Unlimited Titans, capt), Kyle Abbott (Sunfoil Dolphins), Hashim Amla (Cape Cobras), Farhaan Behardien (The Unlimited Titans), Quinton de Kock (The Unlimited Titans), JP Duminy (Cape Cobras), Faf du Plessis (The Unlimited Titans), Imran Tahir (Sunfoil Dolphins), David Miller (Sunfoil Dolphins), Morne Morkel (The Unlimited Titans), Chris Morris (The Unlimited Titans), Kagiso Rabada (bizhub Highveld Lions), Rilee Rossouw (VKB Knights), Dale Steyn (Nashua Cape Cobras).

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