Tag: Momentum

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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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BROADENED HORIZONS

In the midst of her busiest international season to date, Proteas Women’s player Trisha Chetty is still finding time for off-the-field objectives – without her form suffering.

Proteas Women’s Team batter and wicketkeeper Trisha Chetty is riding the crest of a wave at the moment. Not only is she part of the national squad currently in India for the ICC Women’s World T20, but her recent form suggests she will be key to the objectives of the team both there and in the future. On top of that, Chetty has also made time for dual career opportunities, by studying online.

“I signed up for the Introduction to Exercise Science course offered by the ,” says Chetty. “It wasn’t a long course – the maximum time you have to complete it is six months, but you can finish it in less.”
Identifying a course suited to her interests and schedule proved easy, with Chetty’s SACA Personal Development Manager Kirsten van Heerden there to guide her through the process of making an informed choice applying for a bursary and supporting her through the duration of the course.

“When I decided to take my studies further, Kirsten was more than helpful to me – from registration straight to the final exam. Sport is what I love and I have an interest in coaching, so it didn’t take us long to identify a suitable course.”

Chetty found, as most professional cricketers have, that the online route fitted perfectly into her schedule.

“Every aspect of the course is online, from assessments to the actual final exam. Online was more convenient for me because we travel and are away from home a lot of the time.”

She does, however, admit to a bit of final exam angst, as the allocated time to finish the course came and went rather quickly. Yet she really enjoyed being able to study whenever and wherever she was. The opportunity to have your studies funded has been a positive spin-off, with the women’s game taking big steps in recent years – including contracted players being registered as SACA members. The majority of the national Women’s squad are now fully contracted players, which apart from the financial benefits has also lead to full SACA Player Plus access – which Chetty is thankful for.

“Thanks to Momentum we have 14 contracted women players. This financial help enables us to focus more on improving our game. The SACA Player Plus Programme helps us plan better for our future after cricket, so now we can relax and focus on our game.” As a result, Chetty hasn’t only called on Van Heerden, who is based in her hometown of Durban, for dual career objectives. Van Heerden, a former Olympic swimmer, is also a qualified sports and performance psychologist so has proved a good sounding board to the 27-year-old whose dual role in the national team necessitates being focused at all times.

“I feel pressure lifted off my shoulders knowing I have something to fall back on after cricket. As a result, it’s helping me concentrate more on my game and I’m able to play freely.”

Chetty did just that in the series leading into the tournament in India, showing some of her best form since making her debut in the green and gold in 2007. She scored a fluent 66 in the successful run chase against England in the second ODI before a plucky 46 in the First T20I in Paarl – which was lost despite her efforts.

Though the West Indies Women ultimately won the ODI series that followed, Chetty put together scores of 47, 51, and 55 in the three matches – the last being a match-winning knock. All the while, she has remained her usual tidy self behind the stumps.

With her course done and dusted, Chetty is left to focus completely on her game at the moment, but she intends to broaden her horizons even more once the World T20 is over.

“I definitely want to do more courses through the Player Plus programme when I get back from the World Cup in India.”

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FINDING THE RIGHT FIT

Glen Addicott has always had a passion for what he does. Rather than investing all that passion into his work as a cricketer in an often unpredictable landscape, he found another area into which he could channel his energy.

Four years ago a new challenge in his cricket career seemed logical for Pietermaritzburg-born Glen Addicott. After seven seasons as a regular for KwaZulu-Natal Inland, the top-order batsman had only played a handful of matches for the Dolphins in 2010-11 and 2011-12, so he felt the timing was right for a move to South Western Districts to explore further playing opportunities.

“My former club coach from Maritzburg Varsity, Gary Hampson, had moved down to the area to coach SWD and offered me the chance to join them, which I did,” the 31-year-old says.

As it turned out, ’real life’ caught up quickly for Addicott in the Southern Cape.

“I came down to George in 2012, then in February 2013 married to Jesse Ann and then she fell pregnant. All that meant I became quite keen to settle down. While I was still in Maritzburg I had spent a year studying towards a Bachelor of Business Administration, my degree wasn’t complete. I had also done Level I and Level II coaching courses but that’s not what I wanted to do.”

Fortunately, Addicott had already been introduced to a long-term career option in which he was interested.

“In 2011 I was playing club cricket in England [for Vauxhall Mallards, based close to the east coast of England] and one of my mates was also a personal trainer. He was training a guy with polio and invited me to join them at a CrossFit box – that’s what their ‘gyms’ are called. Being fully fit I thought it would be easy, but the session broke me and from that day I knew I wanted to do CrossFit. Basically, CrossFit is all about functional movement, which comes from a split between gymnastics, weight lifting and cardio work, which could be riding, running or swimming. Also, every day is different and varied and it’s performed at high intensity. It’s one of the fastest growing sports in the world and has its own CrossFit Games.”

To turn that interest into a career, Addicott tapped into the resources available to him, starting with SACA Personal Development Managers, Ruan Schlebusch and Brad Player.

“Ruan helped me draw up contracts, come up with a business plan and enrol in various classes to own a CrossFit box. Brad was also great, and even these days he often pops in for coffee and a chat.”

Addicott also found a willing business partner in his SWD captain, Ross McMillan, with whom he has come a long way.

“Ross and I have known each other for many years,” he says. “We grew up playing cricket against each other [McMillan for Hilton College and Addicott for St Charles College], and then together in numerous teams, such as KwaZulu-Natal Inland and then SWD. Ross has always been business-minded and had a desire to run a business. I, on the other hand, am not naturally that way inclined and so my skills lay in the programming and coaching of classes. We made a great team.

“That said, in June 2015 a great opportunity arose for Ross and he left us, and retired from cricket, to pursue a career in the financial sector [as a Financial Planner with Momentum] – a fantastic move for him and a certain loss for us. Although we miss him, I have learnt some wonderful business skills and thus am very happy with how things are going at CrossFit George.”

Having now gone it alone, how does Addicott look back on the decision to put his kit bag in storage?

“It was a tough decision. Cricket was my life and I didn’t have any other job. However, it was also a pretty easy decision in the sense that I’m still involved in sport and people. The major difference is that when you own your own business it’s 24-7 while with cricket you get lots of down time. So the business side has been a bit of a change.”

However, he confirms that he’s in it for the long run.

“My parents and my wife’s parents have moved down here [no doubt to be closer to their granddaughters, born in 2013 and 2015]. Personally, it was tough in the beginning with early mornings and late evenings for classes but here in George the life is great, there’s very little to complain about. I do miss cricket but I’ve fallen into another passion.”

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REAPING THE BENEFITS

Proteas Women all-rounder Sune Luus discovered that SACA Player Plus access played a big part in 2015 being one of the best years of her life

Thanks to her leg-spinning and game-closing batting, Sune Luus has been playing for the Proteas Women since she was a 16-year-old in high school. Her fortune is that in the intervening four years, she’s witnessed women’s cricket gain prominence, sponsors, fans and access to opportunities – the SACA Player Plus programme being one – like never before.

It helped her out of a quandary when she finished school in 2014…

“After matriculating I was basically in two minds. I was thinking of studying to be a teacher but I was worried that with all the touring and trying to go to class I’d struggle. Then we had a team gathering at the HPC in Pretoria with SACA where it was mentioned I could do a diploma geared towards elite athletes at University of Pretoria. It’s a year course but you can do it over two years which covers first year Sport Science and first year Education,” Luus says.

She immediately put up her hand, and found the subsequent process very easy.

“Applying for a bursary was really easy,” she recalls. “Our PDM Ruan Schlebusch gave me the application form, I filled it in, and he said he would take care of the rest… which he did. He was really helpful, there were no hassles.”

On top of that Luus, who turned 20 on January 5, found her first year in university rewarding, having spent very little time actually at Die Hoerskool Menlopark in her Matric year.

“I think I spent about three months at school in Matric because of how busy we were [thanks to tours to Qatar, Bangladesh and England] so last year was just so amazing being able to walk around campus, meet new people and have long training sessions in the afternoon. Initially, going to university was quite a scary idea, especially when I saw I’d have to wake up early for some 7:30 classes but it was a great journey… one of the best year’ of my life.”

Luus’ time-management will be tested this year though. After only one tour in 2015, the Proteas host England, West Indies, Bangladesh and New Zealand with the World Twenty20 in India in the middle.

“I do quite well on my own, but everybody needs support. My two loving parents are very supportive as is my brother who’s doing an honours in agriculture and knows what I’ll go through. Also, I grew up in a hardworking home, and apart from them my cricket teammates and coaches support me as well while my friends are always sending me SMS’ encouraging me.”

What about the university, will they be accommodating?

“Definitely, the course is geared towards elite athletes so lecturers help us a lot by sending our work via email and then we can send it back. I will also take my work with me wherever I travel.”

Having gone for the two-year option, and all things being well, Luus will end this year with a Higher Certificate in Sports Science [HCert (Sports Science)] with the option of choosing a more focussed degree in the Faculty of Humanities or Education. However, considering Momentum’s sponsorship of Cricket South Africa in 2013 allowed the women’s team to become contracted players, Luus could surely have just focused on cricket for now?

“We don’t get the same kind of money the Proteas men get so we can’t just play cricket, we have to get something behind our names. Also, we have to remember that if we get a long-term injury the contract won’t completely take care of you and somewhere along the line you’re going to have to stop whether you want to have children or age catches up. That said, it’s been awesome getting a contract and does make a difference. For example, after school my dad cut off my phone bill so I’ve been paying that and having money in the bank to pay for other expenses has been really helpful. Getting the bursary from SACA really helped too, because I might not be studying if it wasn’t for them.”

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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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CSA announce Momentum Proteas Women’s World T20 Squad

Cricket South Africa (CSA) on Monday, announced the 14-strong Momentum Proteas women’s squad that will compete in the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 in Bangladesh from 23 March to 2 April 2014.

There are no surprises in the final squad, which suggests that coach, Hilton Moreeng has been working on getting the right combinations during the team’s last few international series.

“We’ve been working on a formula with the team selected and it has reaped good results for us in the past,” Moreeng said. “The selected players have more than what it takes to win a World Cup. The standard of play they have shown in the recent past proves that, and the determination they have to achieve that goal is second to none. Gone are the days when South Africa was grouped along with the bottom tear countries in women’s cricket.”

The number of countries participating in the competition has increased from eight to 10. South Africa, who will be lead by Mignon du Preez will face Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan and Ireland in Group A. While Group B, comprises England, West Indies, Sri Lanka and, for the first time ever, hosts Bangladesh.

South Africa, who recently finished a triangular series in Qatar against Pakistan and Ireland will be happy to have played at least two of the teams in their group.

“It’s definitely going to be a tough competition for us and we won’t be taking anything and any team for granted,” Du Preez said. “Having played and lost to Pakistan in the final of the T20 series in Qatar, we know how dangerous they can be. Australia and New Zealand are in the top four countries in the world, we will always adopt the wary approach when playing them. They are not unknown to us however, we have played both sides before and there is definitely no intimidation factor. Ireland have the ability to surprise any team that will take them lightly, so we will definitely give 110% every time we play, no matter who the opposition is.”

“Playing in any World Cup is a huge honour for any player and we can’t wait to get our campaign off to a good start. We have the team that can take us far in the competition and we will look to take it a game at a time when we arrive in Bangladesh,” she concluded.

South Africa have two players in the top 20 of the Reliance ICC Women’s Player Rankings for T20 Batsmen; Du Preez at 12 and Trisha Chetty at number 20. CSA Women’s Cricketer of 2013, Marizanne Kapp is number four in the Reliance ICC Women’s Player Rankings for T20 Bowlers, with Shabnim Ismail at number 18.

CSA Chief Exec, Mr Haroon Lorgat believes the team have done what is needed to reach the top and extended his well wishes to the side.

“The ICC World T20 event is the only global cricket event that brings together the world’s best men and women cricketers in a joint event and as such it is the most important event in which our national women’s team takes part,” he said.

 

“This tournament notwithstanding, we have focused on the development of women’s cricket in South Africa. Our team has had a busy season playing and winning home series against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, and then competed in an away tournament in Doha where they achieved highly credible results. We cannot predict how they will perform at the World T20 event, but I can confidently say that the team has had excellent preparation and they have made big strides in appreciating the standard of competition needed at international level. We want them to become a competitive force in world cricket,” he continued.

 

“The development of women’s cricket has not been limited to events on the playing field either. Extending one of our major commercial partners, Momentum, as the dedicated sponsor for Women’s cricket has been fantastic. This sponsorship symbolises an important advancement for women’s sport in our country as it has allowed us to centrally contract our coach and national women’s players.

 

“We wish Coach Hilton Moreeng, captain Mignon du Preez and all the players and support staff everything of the best as they strive to succeed while enjoying this major ICC tournament,” Mr Lorgat concluded.

 

Charlene Lackay, Head of External Communications at Momentum said: “We are very proud of the Momentum Proteas and hope the nation gets behind them as we have, and especially for this World Cup.  We have seen fantastic effort from the players and their continued commitment is showing results, with successive wins.  Momentum is pleased that we were able to contribute to the appointment of full-time national coach Hilton Moreeng, who is helping produce these results.  We wish Mignon and the ladies all the best and we’ll be cheering for them.”

 

Momentum Proteas ICC Women’s World Twenty20 team:

Trisha Chetty (KZN coastal)

Moseline Daniels (WP)

Mignon du Preez (Northerns)

Shandré Fritz (WP)

Shabnim Ismail (WP)

Marizanne Kapp (EP)

Lizelle Lee (NW)

Marcia Matshipi (Northerns)

Sunette Loubser (Boland)

Suné Luus (Northerns)

Nadine Moodley (KZN Coastal

Chloe Tryon (KZN coastal)

Yolandi van der Westhuizen (Boland)

Dané van Niekerk (EP)

Non traveling reserves

Yolandi Fourie (WP)

Ayabonga Khaka (Border)

Yonadi Potgieter (Boland)

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