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A mix of youth and experience as South Africa A tour the West Indies

football20 May 2025 09:52| © MWP
By:Werner Erasmus
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Lesego Senokwane © Gallo Images

The South Africa A side, coached by Wandile Gwavu, will tour the West Indies for three One-Day matches and two Four-Day matches between 21 May and 11 June 2025, all taking place at the newly renamed Darren Sammy Cricket Ground in Saint Lucia.

The youngest, and arguably the most exciting, addition to the squad is 19-year-old southpaw, Lhuan-dre Pretorius.

Even before being the top run scorer for the South Africa U19s in the 2024 U19 Cricket World Cup with 287 runs at an average of 57.40 and a strike rate of 94.09, Pretorius had already been selected as the Rookie pick for the Paarl Royals in the SA20. 

After the World Cup he was quickly drafted into the Momentum Multiply Titans setup, despite having spent his formative years playing for the Lions junior sides.

While his first short stint at the backend of the 2023/24 domestic season was a quiet one for Pretorius, he managed to stroke 50s against the ACDC Express Tuskers and WSB Western Province in the CSA T20 Challenge and gained enough experience to know what he had to work on to start the new season on the front foot; which is exactly what he did.

The opening fixture of the 2024/25 domestic season pinned the Titans against the defending champions, the DP World Lions at the DP World Wanderers in the CSA T20 Challenge.

Pretorius wasted no time in making his intentions for the season known by smoking a 43-ball 82 and being awarded Player of the Match. While he didn’t quite reach the same heights in the rest of the tournament, Pretorius showed that he was not a one trick pony.

He made his First-Class debut against the Dafabet Warriors in Gqeberha and duly struck 120(184) in a match-winning effort and was awarded the Player of the Match award once again.

Then came the big test, the Betway SA20 where he had the challenging task of opening the batting for the Paarl Royals alongside England superstar, Joe Root. So, what did Pretorius do?

Exactly what he had done in the in the first match of the season in the CSA T20 Challenge and his debut First-Class match. He put in a Player of the Match performance in his opening match with 97 runs off only 51 balls against the defending champions, the Sunrisers Eastern Cape.

He went on to finish the tournament as the leading run-scorer with 397 runs at an average of 33.08 and a strike rate of 166.80.

You might ask, how did Pretorius finish off the domestic season? With a Player of the Match performance in the final of the Four-Day series against the Lions with a match-saving knock of 114(209). You would be hard-pressed to find a more impressive start to a professional cricket career from a youngster across formats.

However, this is of course not all about one individual, this is about a full squad. The South Africa A side will be captained by the experienced 29-year-old Marques Ackerman who has also previously captained the Hollywoodbets Dolphins.

His first-class stats are among the best with an average of 44.54 and a strike rate of 76.87 to go along with it, and he top scored in the 2023/24 CSA Four-Day series with 571 runs in seven matches. Having recently become a first-time father, Ackermann will be eager to show his ability to lead on the field as much as he does off it.

Lesego Senokwane has been rewarded for his prolific form in First-Class cricket with a maiden call-up having scored over a thousand runs in the last two domestic seasons combined with four centuries, including a highest score of 205.

He also struck a 280 for the SA Emerging side against Zimbabwe Emerging in August 2024 showing his full capabilities as a classy top-order batter.

Okuhle Cele and Schalk Engelbrecht have also received their maiden call-ups to the South Africa A side having impressed for the Dolphins and the Titans respectively. Cele took over 20 wickets in each of the last two CSA Four-Day series while maintaining a strike rate of less than 50.

Rivaldo Moonsamy gets a well-deserved look in after a season where he averaged 43.14 at a strike rate of 103.07 with two centuries in the CSA One-Day Cup. In the 2023/24 season Moonsamy was also the fourth leading run scorer in the CSA Four-Day series 536 runs at an average of 48.72.

The selectors decided to go spin heavy as in addition to the off-spin of Engelbrecht, the squad also features the experienced international Bjorn Fortuin, young Nqaba Peter and domestic veteran Prenelan Subrayen.

The main reason for this approach is that the pitches are expected to get slower throughout, as the entire series will be played on the same square.

Tristan Luus also makes a welcome return after a stellar CSA One-Day Cup this season. The young tearaway quick took 14 wickets in only six innings at an average of 15.78 and an economy rate of 4.83. He has shown remarkable improvement in his control and has become a real threat to any batter.

Jordan Hermann has looked the part since he arrived on the domestic scene a couple of seasons ago and has also scored more than a thousand First-Class runs in the last two seasons. He made 323 runs at an average of 53.83 in the CSA One-Day Cup this year as well, showing that he is well set for the two-format tour.

He will want to make a better impression after a tough tour to Sri Lanka in 2023 with the SA A side where he failed to get past 16 in the four innings he batted across the same two formats.

Sinethemba Qeshile started his career at the Warriors with a bang as he made 735 runs in 10 matches in the 2018/19 CSA Four-Day series at an average of 52.50 with seven fifties.

While he has shown some signs of getting back to his best in the last two seasons, he has not been able to replicate that breakthrough season again just yet. This is an opportunity to show that he can make that step up and put his name back in the hat for higher honours.

The squad is rounded off with experienced domestic players who have all had their first taste of international cricket. This includes Tshepo Moreki, Mihlali Mpongwana, Jason Smith and Ruan de Swardt.

Jason Smith has grabbed the few opportunities he has received for the Proteas in the ODI format and will want to ensure that he remains at the forefront of the minds of the new national selectors, who will be appointed in due course.

De Swardt has done everything he possibly can to be in the reckoning for a test recall after an incredible all-round 2024/25 CSA Four-Day series. He made 465 runs in eight innings at an eye-popping average of 93, with five fifties while also taking 18 wickets in nine innings at an average of 25.83.

He will be breathing down the neck of Wiaan Mulder if he can put in a similar performance against West Indies A.

There is plenty to play for on this tour with the next ODI World Cup on home soil just two years away and the next World Test Championship cycle starting again for the Proteas in November with a tour to the subcontinent.

It is a squad brimming with confidence and talent and there is no better opportunity to prove their readiness for the next level than a great showing against the Islanders.

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