Bokako, Christensen picked for national academy
YEARS of hard work have paid off for two Eastern Province cricketers who have been selected for this year’s Powerade National Academy Programme.
Tladi Bokako, 23, and Matthew Christensen, 20, have been playing for EP for more than two seasons.
They have developed into wellrounded cricketers, thanks to the high performance training programmes at EP Cricket.
The age group development structures have had a positive effect in skills training from primary school level right up to U19 and SA Schools.
EP have kept an aggressive training routine to improve their young players.
With the introduction of high performance training and mental skill enhancement from Rhodes University’s Gary Steel last year, the players have improved immensely.
EP coaching development manager Christo Esau said they had had dividends in their execution since last year.
“There is always room for improvement.
“We would like to see the guys get more hundreds at the crease,” he said yesterday.
“Mental skills training has helped the players keep calm under pressure.”
Cricket SA high performance manager Vincent Barnes said: “This programme goes way beyond developing cricket talent in the traditional sense.
“The National Academy programme is aimed at looking at the holistic development of a player, so it looks at all aspects, not just cricket-related skill and tactical awareness, but also at the other support a player needs to get to a level where he or she can perform at professional and international standards.”
EP had four players selected for SA Schools in December.
Esau has stressed the importance of quality coaching as it brings quality results.
“We pride ourselves on the Siyaphezulu [on the rise] brand at EP,” he said.
“We want our players to get the right opportunities and adequate support.”
Bokako hails from Motherwell and will no doubt prove an inspiration to the next generation in the township areas.
“Tladi has shown great potential and is starting to develop his bowling skills,” Esau said.
“Christensen is a very knowledgeable cricketer and has shown good leadership skills.”
The programme is scheduled to start in May and will run until the end of July.