Makhaya Ntini's son included as South Africa name squad for 2018 U-19 World Cup
Thando Ntini picked up four wickets on his U-19 debut for South Africa against West Indies in July 2017
What's the story?
Cricket South Africa (CSA) named their 15-man squad for the Under-19 World Cup with the star attraction being former South African fast bowler Makhaya Ntini's son, Thando Ntini.
This will be the twelfth edition of the Under-19 Cricket World Cup and will be held from 13th January to February 3rd, 2018 in New Zealand, who will be hosting the tournament for a record third time.
The South African side will be led by Raynard van Tonder while wicketkeeper-batsman Wandile Makwetu, who featured in the 2016 edition of the tournament, held in Bangladesh, has also been included.
Head coach Lawrence Mahatlane sounded pleased with the team combination and believes that the side can emulate the successful Under-19 campaign the Proteas enjoyed in 2014.
"I’m very excited as a coach to take this group to New Zealand,” head coach Lawrence Mahatlane said. “They are massively talented with the potential for even greater things and I’m confident that we have chosen the combination that will give us the desired results.”
In case you didn't know...
In contrast to the 2014 edition of the tournament held in the UAE in which South Africa won all their matches on the way to lifting the trophy by defeating Pakistan in the final, the Proteas had a tournament to forget last time around.
Placed in a relatively easy group alongside hosts Bangladesh, Namibia, and Scotland, South Africa could only muster a win against the latter and had to eventually settle for a disappointing 11th place after the plate league playoffs.
Also read: Indian squad for the 2018 Under-19 World Cup: Know your team
The heart of the matter
South Africa have been handed a tough draw, at least on paper, for the 2018 Under-19 World Cup which will feature 16 teams divided into four groups, having been placed alongside hosts New Zealand, defending champions West Indies and Kenya.
However, South Africa seems to have learnt from past experiences and has picked a squad which features as many as four players who have played for the senior side of their respective provincial sides.
The list includes Matthew Breetzke, who was the leading run scorer for the aspiring Proteas with 238 runs in their recently concluded Youth One-Day triangular series against England and Namibia in Potchefstroom, as well as Wandile Makwetu, who will be making his second U-19 World Cup appearance.
The most exciting prospect who will be grabbing all the headlines in the lead-up to the tournament though will be Thando Ntini, who is earmarked to follow his father Makhaya Ntini's footsteps as a future South African international.
Fast-tracked into the South African Under-19 setup after impressing in the nets, Thando picked up four wickets on his U-19 debut against West Indies earlier this year.
His consistent performances for the side, with the ball as well as bat, since, has now helped him earn a ticket to New Zealand and South Africa will be hoping for something special from the extremely talented 17-year-old.
South Africa's U1-9 World Cup Squad: Raynard van Tonder (C), Matthew Breetzke (wk), Jean du Plessis, Jason Niemand, Gerald Coetzee, Jade de Klerk, Fraser Jones, Wandile Makwetu (wk), Andile Mogakane, Kgaudise Molefe, Thando Ntini, Jiveshen Pillay, Hermann Rolfes, Kenan Smith, Akhona Mnyaka.
What's next?
The Proteas Under-19 side will play two warm-up matches against Australia and India after heading to New Zealand on January 4 and will begin their campaign against Kenya on January 14 in Lincoln.
Tougher opposition awaits for their final two group games as they take on West Indies and New Zealand on January 17 and 20 respectively at Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui.
Extra Cover: 2018 under-19 World Cup schedule announced
Author's take
With plenty of experienced personnel in their side, South Africa will no doubt be confident of at least improving on their performance from the 2016 U-19 World Cup where they finished 11th.
Placed in what has been described as the 'Group of death', they do have a tough task on their hand though and will have to play extremely well to progress to the Super League quarterfinals and beyond with only the top-two teams from each of the four groups set to move forward.