Cape Town - The Proteas may have departed for a two-Test tour of New Zealand, but back home the attention will turn to the CSA T20 Challenge that will take place in a managed environment at St George’s Park in Gqeberha starting on Monday.
Here, Zaahier Adams profiles eight young hot-shots who will be looking to hit the lights out.
DEWALD BREVIS (Titans, 18)
‘Baby AB will be heading straight from the Under-19 World Cup, in which he shone with some barnstorming performances that caught the entire cricket world’s attention, to Gqeberha. Few young cricketers have had fans so excited in many a year and the only wish is that it’s not all happening too fast for the dashing right-hander and that he’s able to manage all the attention that is coming his way.
TRISTAN STUBBS (Warriors, 21)
The former Grey High pupil burst on to the domestic scene in last season’s T20 Challenge in Durban with his aggressive batting. Barely out of school, Stubbs showed a refreshing attitude where, regardless of the Warriors’ position, his first mode of defence was always attack. With a season of first-class cricket now behind him, it will be exciting to see how much he has developed and hopefully without having lost his natural instinct.
BRYCE PARSONS (Dolphins, 20)
Although still a rookie, Parsons has quickly developed into an integral member of Imraan Khan’s Dolphins squad. He will no doubt be motivated by the near miss in the CSA T20 Knock-Out final in Kimberley at the beginning of the season when his partnership with Jason Smith almost took their team over the line.
GERALD COETZEE (Knights, 21)
Handpicked by former West Indies quick and top commentator Ian Bishop in 2018 to play for the Proteas in the future, Coetzee has not quite hit those highs due to injuries. But under the guidance of Allan Donald, he has been building up his loads in the CSA 4-Day Series and looks to be approaching his best again.
JOSHUA RICHARDS (Lions, 23)
The top-order batter has enjoyed a sensational 4-Day Series with 450 runs at an average of 64.28, and is arguably more suited to the longer format. He will no doubt be eager to show he should not be pigeon-holed as a red-ball batter and has the all-round game to succeed in T20.
JONATHAN BIRD (Western Province, 20)
Bird is striking the ball sweetly at the moment, as he is fresh off a careerbest 152 not out against the Lions last weekend in the 4-Day Series. Hopefully the responsibility of carrying the WP batting line-up in the absence of Zubayr Hamza (Proteas duty) and David Bedingham (Durham-bound) will not stop him from unleashing his full attacking repertoire.
SIYABONGA MAHIMA (Rocks, 25)
At 25, Mahima is not quite as fresh as the others here, but as a spinner he is just a baby. The burly left-armer is an oldfashioned tweaker who is not afraid to give the ball some air. He proved quite a hit in last season's T20 Challenge when he claimed a hat-trick for his former team the Cape Cobras. He also enters the tournament in sublime form having claimed a nine-wicket haul.
DUAN JANSEN (North West, 21)
Twin brother of rising Proteas star Marco, Duan will be eager to prove he is much more than just that. Blessed with the same height advantage, he is also a promising fast bowler who is able to extract bounce from the most placid of surfaces. He will also be keen to show that he learnt a few tricks of the trade when he went along with his brother to the Mumbai Indians as a ‘support player’ in last season’s IPL.