Next hurdle for SA U-19’s

South Africa under-19 assistant coach, Siya Sibiya has expressed his satisfaction with his batsmen following their execution of a simpler approach in their last match. This as the team prepares to face the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the final group stage match of the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup in Bloemfontein today.

The match gets underway at 10am at the Mangaung Oval with the action live on SuperSport 5,

The second-placed SA U19s sit on two points, tied with the UAE, but with a superior net run rate, and will have to defeat the gulf side to seal a spot in the Super League, with Pakistan or Bangladesh as their possible opponents.

After overcoming the disappointment of the opening game defeat by Afghanistan, the Junior Proteas bounced back with a 150-run trouncing of Canada. That victory featured a stunning century from captain Bryce Parsons (121), and two half-centuries from Tyrese Karelse (60*) and Jonathan Bird (54) as they posted a massive 349/8.

This pleased batting coach, Sibiya, who says the psyche of the batsmen had certainly improved following their display at the JB Marks Oval in Potchefstroom.

“It has (improved), especially in the middle-order, where we felt that we haven’t been delivering enough positive contributions,” said the coach.

“Afghanistan were a formidable unit with those spinners in the middle periods and they can break you open but we recovered well. We had good conversations about doing things a little bit simpler, not worrying too much about everyone else and focusing on what we can do,” he added.