Cape’s got talent, but Cobras’ Adams needs to find the best
WITH batsmen Yaseen Vallie and Clyde Fortuin leaving for the Warriors next season, the Cape Cobras will be in need of potential franchise players to fill their boots. Both players have featured for the Cobras this season, but the talented duo have decided to look outside of Cape Town to get more playing time.
Both players spent time playing for amateur side Western Province, under the mentorship of coach Faiek Davids.
“It is a big loss to the team, to lose two ‘gun’ players in Mo (Vallie) and Clyde, because not only were they talented but they were both players that were earmarked for the future,” said Davids.
Vallie and Fortuin were top-order batsman for the Cobras, with the latter also filling the wicketkeeper position.
A number of players have emerged to potentially take Vallie’s spot, while replacing the two-in-one Fortuin may take some doing. “Pieter Malan, Matthew Kleinveldt and Keegan Petersen are all guys who can put their hands up for a place as a batsman in the Cobras side now, while there are also Lesiba Ngoepe and Zubayr Hamza who can take the next step,” said Davids.
“Next season, though, the main goal for me will be to find a new wicketkeeper now that Clyde has left. Pieter has the ability to play there while this season Kyle Verreynne also played for me. He is only 17 years old and is still at Wynberg Boys’ High, so he will need some more time.”
Apart from the WP ranks, Cobras coach Paul Adams can also look for new talent in the Boland side. Most recently left-arm spinner GF Linde has emerged from the side coached by Barney Mohammed.
Mohammed has just completed his final season as coach of the side, but has earmarked Soyisile Pono as another potential wicketkeeper option.
“At the age of 21 Pono is still very young but he has a lot to offer in terms of his keeping and batting,” said Mohammed.
“This season I promoted him to opening batsman because he has got very good technique and great hand-eye co-rordination. If the side is willing to put in the long hours with him then he will definitely become a franchise player.”
Mohammed added that players such as Hamza and Petersen are also players who will need more time, and he called for more attention to be paid to the younger players. “If you go and watch schools cricket you can see that there is a lot of talent out there, but they need to be nurtured while at the same time they need to get as much playing time as possible,” he added.
“I think teams need to start being a bit braver and give these youngsters more playing time instead of having them spend most of the season sitting on the bench.”