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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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“My experience with the Player Plus programme has really been a good one” – JP Duminy

Key Proteas player. SACA President. Husband. Father. JP Duminy has many elements to his life that he needs to balance. Having identified the need for personal development and plan for life after cricket, he recently added ‘student’ to that list too…

At only 31 and a key player in all three formats for the Proteas, JP Duminy could conceivably delay post-cricket thoughts for a few years still. Instead he has decided to lay the foundation for life after cricket during his playing career, to ensure a smooth transition.

“I guess I’m in a stage of my life now where I’m sort of looking at post cricket as well, and that is where the Player Plus programme has come into play and obviously SACA has been a huge influence in that,” says the current SACA President.

As it is, Duminy, being an elegant batsman who can also hit the ball big; a wicket-threatening off-spinner and agile fielder will have opportunities to extend his career post-Proteas if this was the route he wished to take. However, having that option hasn’t stopped him identifying what he wants to pursue in life when he does pack up his kit bag for the last time.

“My passion lies in dealing with people. I’m involved in one or two charities which is something I’d like to pursue further and I’ve also done a sports psychology course – working with sports psychologists has always intrigued me considering the sport I play. So I definitely want to help young cricketers come through from a mental side and it’s definitely something I will look into.”

Duminy didn’t identify these interests entirely on his own…

“I met up with my Personal Development Manager, Ruan Schlebusch, and we went through an array of questions in a questionnaire that identifies what your ambitions are or where your interests lie. That’s where I found that psychology might be something I want to go into… and me playing sport fits in well with me considering sports psychology. Hopefully I can make a great career out of it.”

Duminy took advantage of a SACA Player Plus bursary in 2014 by completing a course in Small Business Management through GetSmarter; the online nature of the course providing the necessary flexibility to fit into his schedule.

“We always have internet access wherever we’re touring so it was easy to access the information, the notes, the study material… I was privileged to be able to do something like that. Also, the great thing about it is that it’s not exam-based. It’s module-based so you have a week to do your module before handing it in – so it’s not studying per se but lots of research work. You don’t have to freak out about exams, which we don’t always get time to fit in in any case.”

Having last made a concerted effort to study in 2001, while completing Matric at Plumstead High School, Duminy is grateful for the support he has received while tackling dual career objectives so many years later.

“We have a huge amount of support from SACA and obviously our PDMs. They obviously identified how crucial it is for guys to be involved in a dual career – so not only looking after cricket but looking after life after cricket too. We’re privileged to have them as a support structure to put that in place for us.”

In the same vein, he is showing that if a national cricketer who spends up to eight months touring can manage to successfully engage in dual career activities, then all professional South African cricketers could be doing the same.

“I would definitely advise fellow cricketers to get involved in the Player Plus programme. My biggest regret is perhaps that I didn’t have these opportunities earlier in my career or be vigilant enough to study straight after school – it’s important for guys who are restricted in their career to have something else to fall back on. Also, I think it benefits you not only off the field but on the field as well. Maybe that’s where we as cricketers get it wrong as we put too much emphasis on cricket on its own and too much pressure on ourselves because we have to perform; but if we have something that takes our mind away from the game, it’s beneficial for us. I believe it’s important for young cricketers especially to get involved in the Player Plus programme – it’s been set up for us, it will benefit us and is being managed around our schedules which is obviously very important. My experience of the Player Plus programme has really been a good one.”

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“WORK EXPERIENCE IS KEY” – SHEZI

While a desire to return to the national fold is fuelling his sporting objectives, Cape Cobras bowler Mthokozisi Shezi is mindful of chasing personal development goals too

A cricketer’s off-season is usually spent resting their weary body, catching up with friends and family and setting goals for the season to come. That, or packing in experience by playing club or county cricket in the UK.

However, earlier this year, Cape Cobras left-arm seamer Mthokozisi Shezi gained experience of a different kind during a work placement at Momentum – sponsors of the domestic one-day cup.

“SACA approached me about it which I was very happy about and I was glad to accept. I wanted to learn how the corporate world works and see if I’m interested in that side of things,” Shezi says.

SACA Player Plus put Shezi in contact with Rory Gruss, an accredited financial advisor with programme partners Momentum, who put him at ease about what to expect.

“I’d been speaking to Rory so knew I was going to do three days [conveniently at the Momentum offices right next door to PPC Newlands] but I was still very nervous. My girlfriend dressed me up, as she said I needed to look formal.”

Initially, looking the part was all he had going for him.

“I remember on the Monday, the guys I spent time with had two cases to solve and watching three people sit together trying to do so was impressive but I must admit for the first 30 minutes I didn’t know what was going on because they were speaking in ‘work code’. That’s also when I realised how important it is to have real work experience and not just a diploma or a degree.”

As it is, the Pietermaritzburg-born 28-year-old already has the former and is currently working towards the latter.

“When I was still playing for the Dolphins, I completed a three-year diploma in sports management at Varsity College in Durban [after applying for and receiving a SACA Player Plus bursary]. When I finished that I said to myself let me do something corporate. After realising how much I like people and them being taken care of, my research led me to human resources – I’m studying that through Mancosa.”

Back to the work experience, what had Shezi learnt by the end of his three days?

“I was there to absorb… mostly by learning through listening but I also asked basic questions related to savings and shares for example. However, I’m really happy to know my finances are safe, because I’ve seen first hand how much they care. As a result, I’ve upped my investment because I now know where, how and when is being used.”

Buoyed by this year’s work experience, Shezi is already looking for an opportunity to do the same at the end of this season.

“I’m in the second year of my three-year HR degree. I’ll try for honours too, but I will be consulting Brad Player, my SACA Personal Development Manager, because next pre-season I want to do work experience in the HR field too. Instead of going to England I want to invest in doing work experience – I want to learn as much as possible and know that I can confidently walk into a job one day.”

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FROM FIRST CLASS TO CLASSROOM

Pursuing your sporting dream as a cricketer has its ups and downs, but one thing is certain, at some point the journey will end. All the more reason to be prepared for it or, like SWD captain Waldo Lategan, be in a position to choose the right moment…

At 26, South Western Districts captain Waldo Lategan is making what might be perceived to be a premature decision to join the ‘real world’, but through the SACA Player Plus programme it’s one he’s been preparing four years for.

“Usually you look at cricket as a career until you’re 30 before you have to start thinking about life after it. As a result, you put lots of pressure on yourself because you feel you have to perform every season to have your contract renewed. So, because I felt that pressure, I thought let me get something behind my name and see if some of that pressure goes away by knowing that I have something to fall back on.”

Contemplating studying, again, was a hurdle in itself. In 2008, fresh out of Oudtshoorn High School where he became SWD’s first ever SA Schools player, Lategan moved to Bloemfontein to study Human Movement Science at University of the Free State and play for the province. By mid-2011 he returned to SWD on a semi-professional playing contract, but without a degree.

“It wasn’t the right thing for me,” he says, but with the guidance of his SACA Personal Development Manager he worked out what a suitable career option would be.

“Ruan Schlebusch was very helpful in this regard when he was still the PDM for SWD. He lit the fire that led to me studying and helped me with the admin and applying for a SACA bursary. I have to give him lots of credit and to Brad Player too who became our PDM after him.

“I signed the SWD contract in April 2011, then I spent the off-season playing club cricket in England [for Marehay CC in Derbyshire] and while there, started studying through Unisa in July 2011. When Ruan and I discussed what to study my thoughts were on how I would end up working with kids… I have a big passion for coaching and kids. That’s how teaching came up as a possible option.”

Four years later, having successfully attained his Bachelor of Education (Intermediary) degree, he’ll be doing just that come January 2016.

“I’m getting married in March 2016, and my fiancé [Steph-Mari Harmse] has a very good job at Netcare Cuyler Hospital in Uitenhage. As soon as I finished my exams earlier this year I sent my CV off to schools there and got offers back from three primary schools. After weighing them up, primarily based on how strong their sport was, I accepted an offer from Handhaaf Primary School. I will be teaching Grade 6 and 7 maths.”

As a bonus for Lategan, he still has some cricket to play…

“Initially I asked the three schools if they would allow me to start in April, after the season ends, but they weren’t willing to – they want teachers for a full year. Also, I can’t take the chance of only looking for jobs then, but in negotiating with Handhaaf and SWD it looks like I’ll still be able to play the limited overs matches on Sundays. This will allow me to see out my contract and start my teaching post simultaneously. We’ve been doing well in the provincial one-day tournament and I want to continue making a contribution to that effort. I also feel responsibility to SWD because for four years they’ve given me a contract and allowed me to take time off when I needed to write exams – I owe them my gratitude too.”

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A TRANSITION WELL-MANAGED

A sudden end to your playing career doesn’t mean an abrupt end to your SACA Player Plus access, as Craig Thyssen happily discovered

One Saturday, erstwhile Warriors all-rounder Craig Thyssen was scoring 33 for Walsall CC in an English club match. The next Saturday his 10-year-long career was over…

“I didn’t know it would be my last match,” he says, recalling what followed that fateful match on 21 July 2013.

“On the Monday morning I woke up, had breakfast and went to the gym like a normal day. Afterwards, while I was lying on the couch watching TV I just started having headaches and stuff. I remember there was a clock on the wall, it couldn’t have been more than four metres away but I couldn’t see the time on it… it was so blurry. When I got up my head was sore so I thought it was just a migraine.”

Only it wasn’t… after a week of ‘tunnel vision headaches’, a teammate’s brother advised a brain scan. The result? “They found strokes on the brain.”

“A few weeks earlier I’d hurt my knee and considered flying home but when I told them that at the hospital they said I might have died on the flight… they found a blood clot on my heart too and it would have exploded at altitude! A higher power was looking out for me.”

Following treatment Thyssen did return home, but the remaining blank spot in his left eye ended, at 29, a career that had started as a prodigious schoolboy at Grey High in Port Elizabeth.

As it turns out, he now nurtures talented schoolboys, as Paarl Gym’s first team coach.

“I was lucky, when this happened to me I still had a season – 2013/14 – left on my Warriors contract, so I could still look at what I wanted to do. Melonie Gobel [SACA’s Eastern Cape-based Personal Development Manager] was a massive help in me identifying that I should to go into coaching.”

“With Craig, as with all the players we work with, we really looked holistically after the player and to make sure that they’re ‘okay’,” says Gobel. “Usually we’ll start from a financial perspective by identifying their short-term and long-term goals. We also look at life preparation work, like getting a will in order and other life skills they might identify in one-on-one workshops. More specific to Craig, he now didn’t have a job, so we gave him a CV template to do his own and then fine-tuned it with him. Then we as SACA heard of the coaching job at Paarl Gym and endorsed and motivated for him – he got the job ahead of a number of other candidates.”

To round off their transition support, SACA Player Plus also motivated for Thyssen – and current national bowling coach Charl Langeveldt – to do the CSA Level III coaching course in 2014/15 .

“There was obviously limited space, but he did superbly and got great marks. It shows what a person can do, given the opportunity,” Gobel concludes.

Buoyed by the support, Thyssen has made a successful start to his new career.

“When I arrived in January 2014, the first team was ranked in the 50s I think – remember it’s a rugby school – but we ended the year ranked 10th so I think we’ve done well.”

He has also been unafraid to go straight to the top for some advice…

“[Proteas coach] Russell Domingo was my coach from Under-15 to academy level, and brought me back to the Warriors after two years playing for Free State. He has always been willing to answer any questions I have.”

Besides that, Thyssen can count on first hand experience – three years of SA Schools [2000-02] alongside the likes of AB de Villiers and competing against Brendon McCullum and Alistair Cook on SA Under-19 tours – to nurture the schoolboys under his watch.

“They are always asking me questions about that and my career. The one thing I always tell them is that talent can only take you so far, but you have to work hard if you want to turn professional… and that your career can end when you least expect it.”

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