BECOME A PATRON

By Khalid Mohidin

A very special announcement that I believe will change the face of the way cricket is supported in South Africa.

Hey, guys! Welcome to Cricket Fanatics Magazine. I would like to welcome you to the first and only fan-driven Cricket publication in South Africa.

I started this venture on 1 July 2019 with a vision to get fans from all walks of life engaged with the game and the personalities in cricket.

We want to tell the untold stories of South African cricket and we want fans to be heard.

Since we started, we covered the Mzansi Super League, Women’s Super League, Proteas Men and Women International Test, ODI and T20I series, as well as school and club cricket, with the aim of providing entertaining, engaging and educational content.

But hasn’t stopped there.

We started a Monthly Magazine where we provide multi-media content, including exclusive features, opinion pieces and analysis.

This works hand-in-hand with our YouTube channel where we produce unique cricket shows that allow fans to call in and have their say. 

We have the Daily Show, which reveals all the major talking points in South African cricket.The Sunday Podcast Show where we sit back, relax and engage with the live chat, answering all the questions fans have about us and the game.

We have Off-Side Maidens, the first ever All-Women’s Cricket Show on YouTube, which helps empower women in cricket and gives them a place to share their own views on not only women’s cricket but all cricket.

We have a Legends show, where we interview all legends in cricket.

To produce all of this, we’ve invested a lot of money, time and effort to bring this to you for free.

But to keep this going we need your help. So we have opened a Patreon account.

Today, we are fortunate that technology has enabled anyone to become a patron of creative work, even if they are not a billionaire.

We have therefore launched a campaign for you as a Cricket Fan to become a patron and support us as an independent, bootstrapped publisher.

As a Patron, you also get your voice heard as a Fan.

Plus: You have the opportunity to become more engaged with the content we produce.

Every month we produce at least:

• 60 Website Articles
• 20 Daily Video Shows
• 4 Weekly Podcasts
• Match Previews
• Match Reviews
• Video Interviews
• And more…

So please join our Patreon today.

Simplifying Coaching with Robin Peterson 

By Ongama Gcwabe

Coaching is mostly made to seem complicated and sophisticated but Eastern Province Coach, Robin Peterson, simplifies the job to just teaching his players about the life and journey of a cricketer.

The most important job in sport is that of a coach whose influence can make or break the team.

‘Coaching in South Africa’ has always been a topic that fascinates me mainly because South Africa is not the same as other cricket playing nations due to our dark history.

I’m particularly interested because I am a Network Marketer which is centred around forming relationships and building teams.

I called upon former Proteas all-rounder, now Eastern Province coach, Robin Peterson to better understand coaching in SA and his approach.

“What I try to teach these guys is that there’s no linear approach,” Peterson told Cricket Fanatics Magazine.

“You’ve got to teach them about the life and journey of a cricketer. It’s not always a case where you score hundreds all the time, sometimes you fall off the cliff, then you have to climb up and you get to the top of the mountain and you get pulled down a little bit.

“So you just try and explain this process of a cricketer and what it takes to have a long career to these players; failure is part of the journey.”

This hit the spot so much because I relate to it. The best way to lead is to teach about the journey that lies ahead and how to be prepared for the challenges that lie ahead and also make sense of how the past experiences form part of the journey.

At the end of the day, all Division One coaches have a duty to produce cricketers who are ready for International Cricket should an opportunity present itself. Or is it only on a player to make sure they’re ready for a national call up?

“I think it’s not only my responsibility [as a coach]. The player needs to understand that it is also your responsibility to succeed,” said Peterson.

“Players need to accept responsibility and take accountability for their careers. It can’t just be: ‘I’m not playing because that coach doesn’t like me.’ Because I hear stuff like that too often in the system.

“So ultimately, at the end of the day, it’s what you do with it. This means the responsibility is on you to become a better player. It’s also on you [the Player] and me as a coach to deliver performances."

The players Peterson is working with are among a few players with one foot-in at the national team. My question to him was – ‘What is your focus given that you’re working with some of the youngest, most talented cricketers like Sine Qeshile?’

“So my focus will probably be – I want to get these kids to think more Test cricket and how they can challenge themselves to bat for a day,” Peterson replied.

“Has Sine Qeshile batted for a day? How many times has he batted for a day? He has to bat for a day consistently if he wants to play Test cricket. Kabelo Sekhukhune, he’s got to bat, learn how to bat for the whole day if he wants to make it at Test cricket.

“So these are the things that you’ve got to start opening up their minds to and get them to ask themselves – ‘Can I do that? What do I need to do to do that? What needs to happen now, coach? How can we put the strategy in place? Give me the best chance to do that.’

“Because at the end of the day, I'm not holding the bat there for you, (I’m not) holding the ball for you and I'm not catching for you. So that's why I say it's a two-way thing at the end of the day."

One of the toughest tasks I think South African coaches have is to play some role in keeping their players playing in South Africa with the objective of representing the country someday.

As fans, we’ve seen many talented cricketers leave our shores for a host of different reasons, one common reason is a lack of opportunity in the national team which then encourages players to go abroad.

We saw this with the likes of Colin Ackerman who performed domestically year-in and year-out but never got an opportunity to play for the Proteas.

I think the departure of David Bedingham more recently hurt quite a lot of fans around the country and even more so his then-coach Ashwell Prince.

When I look at the Eastern Province squad for the 2021/22 season, it wouldn’t surprise me if Eddie Moore looks for playing opportunities elsewhere.

“As I said, you’ve got to be ready when that opportunity comes, you’ve got to make sure that you're getting runs, you know, when you get your chance you must perform. You can't decide that I'm losing hope because that’s when you do damage not only to your domestic team but your chances of playing nationally,” continued Peterson.

“You just simply go again. If you scored a thousand runs, then go score 1,200 runs the next season. It’s the only way you can do it. You can’t feel sorry for yourself.

“Unfortunately I’ve been on a lot of tours where I didn’t play. Sometimes I thought maybe I could’ve played. But you have to keep yourself strong in your mind and keep going and keep going and keep going.

“Essentially that's why I say it's not always the coach – Is the player prepared to be resilient and come again, come again, and come again, you know, because that's essentially what's going to make them a good international cricketer, it’s that characteristic that they develop playing over a period of time.

“And that's the only thing I can say to Eddie, you know, he's got to go and do it again. He can't choose now to take his foot off the gas, you know, you’ve just got to do it again. You've got to be the best again.”

It will be interesting to see how all coaches in the country, including Proteas coach Mark Boucher, approach the upcoming season with regards to allowing players to play, especially now that we’ve had the Social Justice and Nation Building Hearings which painted a vivid picture of how players respond to lack of opportunity to play.

It’s clear that self-doubt and to some extent depression settles in on a player when starved of an opportunity to play as per the testimonies given at the SJN Hearings.

The hearings also helped us reflect on some of the decisions taken by the governing body which then affect coaches on the ground.

“Everything is interlinked. Of course. There is no way that they're not interlinked. I mean, if you look at what happens when there’s poor governance? You will lose sponsors. You’re hit financially,” said Peterson.

“Loss of talent follows poor governance as well, you’ll find players deciding – ‘should I play for South Africa or should I not?’ It can go as far as coaches going to explore different avenues around the world now.

“All these things contribute to the product [performances] you deliver on a cricket field. So does good governance have an impact? We can sit here and try and pretend that it doesn’t.

“But of course, it has a massive impact on the game, and when you cannot invest in your product, your progress remains stagnant.

“So we need to get confidence back and I think by the Proteas winning these two series[Test Series and T20I vs West Indies], all of the sudden public confidence comes back and sponsors want to come back.

“There’s a new board now, so these are all things that we need. The signs are there, but I think we still are far away from where we need to be.” Peterson concluded.

Any coach taking on a job in South Africa is faced with a variety of challenges endemic to the Rainbow nation. As challenging as it is, Coaching in South Africa reveals the ability of a coach to develop world-class cricketers.

This video was shot 31 Oct 2019

Key Factors of Being a University Coach

By Lubabalo Skhosana

Club cricket forms a very important part of any cricket system in the world because it does not only serve as a feeder but is also where professional players can go for some form of game time.

This is why it is very important for club cricket to maintain a certain standard that is not far off from that of a country’s domestic cricket.

Another important part of club cricket is University cricket. University clubs also play a massive role in the system as both a feeder and to some extent a home for players.

Madibaz Cricket Head Coach and former KZN Inland captain, Lefa Mosena speaks to us about University Club cricket.

Mr Mosena says his coaching journey began while he was still playing First-Class cricket where he decided to enrol and successfully complete his level two.

He then got a job as Maritzburg College 2nd XI coach, and was also called in by the union to be a batting consultant for the provincial age-group sides.

Mr Mosena took over as Madibaz cricket head coach in 2019 and has won the league with the PE side.

When speaking about the importance of having fully functioning clubs, Mr Mosena said an advantage that Universities have is that they offer a number of different sporting codes which leaves athletes with a number of choices.

He added: “Now all that is left is to have administrators, coaches and mentors who are willing and able to guide and expose learners to good competition and a healthy club/sport environment.

"This will help in the grooming of well-rounded student-athletes for the club and higher sports teams.”

The functionality of a club does not rely solely on administration but on players too. The level of commitment they show to the club and the level of dedication they show will always be what drives the club in the right direction.

A fully functioning club is important for the whole system because if clubs collapse the whole system will suffer one way or another.

Coaching a university club is obviously slightly different to coaching a normal club or rather a local club in that the challenges are different.

A university club is generally made up of university students only and Mr Mosena highlights what he thinks is important to remember and pay attention to when coaching a university club.

He mentions how it is important to strike a balance between studies and the sport when dealing with student-athletes.

“Too many times the drive to win matches can take away from the fact that students also need to focus on passing."

This is perhaps something that the majority of coaches that have students in their teams or that coach University clubs can agree on.

There's a big match on Saturday but two of your big players have exams or big assignment submissions coming up. The question would then always be, “Studies or league points?”

Mr Mosena answers this question very easily.

“The key factor as a university coach is to always remember that producing student-athletes is the main goal.”

The keywords being “STUDENT” and “ATHLETE”, the aim is to produce student-athletes and not just athletes.

For any coach, tapping into one’s playing experience is something that is often a need and this has been no different for the Madibaz Coach.

He however does not only rely on his playing experience as he believes that: “Cricket is always evolving so educating yourself so as to keep learning and growing, goes a long way into making sure you stay relevant and are able to communicate effectively with the new generation of cricketers."

Even though his playing experience forms the foundation of his coaching he still believes in the importance of expanding your knowledge of the game as a coach and keeping up with the times.

As mentioned above, a healthy club cricket standard is important for the standard of domestic cricket because club cricket is a feeder to domestic cricket.

Education is important, University clubs have a role to play as a feeder as well to the system. Up and coming youngsters are signed by University Clubs and are enrolled at those universities to further their studies.

The presence of university clubs then provides these athletes with an opportunity to still play the game while studying.

A number of well-known cricket stars have come through the ranks of Madibaz cricket. Names such as Lutho Sipamla, Anrich Nortje, Edward Moore, Sisanda Magala, the list goes on.

The Coach-Player Relationship: Closer, Sharper, Better

By Chris Chiwanza

When speaking of the arrowhead plant, biologist Edward O. Wilson said this:

"When it grows on the dry ground it produces an elephant-ear leaf.
In shallow water, it puts up leaves that look like lily pads.

"If grown in deep water, it develops slender leaves like eelgrass, sort of seaweedy ribbons.

"The environment awakens something in the plant, freeing it to transform into the shape best suited to its surroundings."

Athletes are not too different from the arrowhead plant. Consider the story of these three basketball players.

The first one was criticized for being lazy, party-oriented, and overweight in the period between 2008 and 2012 when he played for the Charlotte Hornets. During the 2011/12 season, a second player came under fire for malingering, after it was discovered that he was allegedly faking a hamstring injury to avoid playing. He was released by his Chinese team, Xinjiang Flying Tigers, for these unsportsmanlike offences.

Player number three was cut by the Cleveland Cavaliers, in part, for his casual approach to team defence

It is safe to say that no coach would want any one of them in their team. For all intents and purposes, these three players were disruptors of culture and the dressing room environment. Cancers is another term that could be used.

Therefore, it would have been safe to assume that when the trio joined the San Antonio Spurs in 2012, at least one of them or all, would continue to be disruptive.

Yet, not only did that not happen, but Boris Diaw, Patty Mills and Danny Green didn't just change into completely different players and individuals, they won the NBA Championship in 2014.

What happened to them? What brought about this change that saw them become more dedicated, passionate and selfless players? Gregg Popovich.

Popovich's attitude towards players is simplified by his motto, “Hug ’em and hold ’em. We gotta hug 'em and hold 'em."

"A lot of coaches can yell or be nice, but what Pop does is different. He delivers two things over and over: he'll tell you the truth, with no BS, and then he'll love you to death," says Chip Engelland, the Spurs Assistant Coach.

Off the basketball court, out of the dressing room, Popovich makes connections with players over a dinner table. His vehicle for growing intimacy is a meal and wine. His teams have team dinners, then regular gatherings of all the players.

Then there are smaller group dinners, handfuls of players getting together. Then there are the coach’s dinners, which happen every night on the road before a game. Popovich plans all of them.

He just doesn't interact with them in groups, he also makes time to have personal conversations with each player. He learns enough about them to know how to get through to each individual.

"Food and wine aren’t just food and wine. They’re his vehicle to make and sustain a connection, and Pop is really intentional about making that connection happen,” says R. C Buford, the San Antonio Spurs CEO.

While Popovich, obsessed with food and wine makes a lot of connections on the dinner table, South Africa Cricket Academy and South Africa A lead coach Malibongwe Maketa makes his connections over countless cups of coffee.

"For players to deliver for you, for them to help you to achieve your goals for the team, they need to trust you. The individuals in your team should trust you and know that they can trust you," Maketa explains.

"And to build that trust, you need to try to know them, know everything from their background to what makes them tick. Not only that, but you should also open up to them. Share parts of yourself with each player. Engage with them, make the conversations a two-way street. Build relationships."

When you build relationships, when you create these intimate bonds, the expectation is not for the player to adapt to the coach's requirements. It is for the coach to adapt to each player's emotional needs.

That way, the coach will know which buttons to press in different situations to get the best out of the player. At the end of the day, it is not about the coach, but about the player.

Human beings share common needs and tendencies, but we express these needs and tendencies in infinitely different ways. Therefore, a leader who recognizes and adapts to the unique needs of each person can unleash skills and talent that boost performance.

In 2019, Loughborough University Professor, Sophia Jowett published a paper titled "Coaching Effectiveness: The Coach-Athlete Relationship At Its Heart".

In the paper, she puts forward that the effectiveness and success of coaching reside within the coach and the athlete, and the unit relationship they develop.

This is because the player-coach relationship is a social situation that is continuously shaped by interpersonal thoughts, feelings and behaviours of the coach and the athlete.

The relationship is the medium that motivates, assures, satisfies, comforts, and supports coaches and athletes to enhance their sport experience, performance, and well-being.

Numerous other studies show this to be true.

A 2017 study published by the European Journal of Sport and Exercise Science found that a strong player-coach relationship resulted in higher motivation, performance, satisfaction and passion levels as well as better support and psychological wellbeing.

Two scholars, Bernie and O'Connor analysed coach-athlete relationships in rugby union, rugby league and cricket in Australia, and their studies drew the same conclusions.

The idea of players and coaches having such strong bonds and relationships is often viewed with scepticism: many fear favouritism resulting from such unions. But, cricketers interviewed by Bernie and O'Connor repeatedly said that it is better to be dropped from the team by a coach the player is close to than one who is not.

When there is that relationship, it is easy to not overthink the action and also easy for the player to accept constructive criticism and that, at the moment, it is the best thing for everyone involved.

The healthier the relationship between player and coach, the more a player feels that they have the backing of their coach.

As Imperial Lions bowler Nono Pongolo says, " [A coach's] Backing is one of the biggest parts for a player to succeed. It shows you the belief a coach has in you. It's that belief that gives you the confidence to go out there and be yourself."

As it has been said before, players want to know three things about a coach: Does the coach care about me? Can I trust the coach? And can the coach make me better? If a player can answer these questions with a "Yes" that is without doubt or hesitation, then the coach will get the best out of that player.

But, on the other hand, if they cannot positively answer that question, the player's attitude will be one that can be summed up as saying, "Why should I care about what you want from me or your goals if you do not care about me or my goals?"

As one of South Africa's most successful coaches, Geoff Toyana, says, "Coaching for me is about understanding each and every player that you work with. Understand them as people first, touch them deeper.

"Players must feel that they have your backing and you trust them. It is only then that they will play for you. Make them feel that you value them in good and bad times (they must not be scared to make mistakes), provided they learn from them.

"The bottom line is that they will fail. The danger is when you start having favourites in your squad, and players can pick that up and they will repel from you."

Q&A: Claire Terblanche on Test Cricket

You used to do ballet and have a black belt in Judo. How did you know Cricket was your calling?

Well, ballet I did because my mom really wanted me to do it but it was a way I could get into Karate (Same hall as Ballet) but ultimately when I moved schools, I ended up being really good in Judo.

Wasn't really a choice to choose cricket, as it was more a goal to get my National colours and Black belt in Judo while still playing cricket and I achieved both of those goals.

My Sensei knew that I'd be in cricket one day, so essentially cricket has always been in my blood and nothing was going to stop me once I decided to completely follow my heart.

How did you come to be the Women’s and Girls Pipeline Head Coach?

The position became available 3 years ago, after the tragic passing of Coach Cobus Roodt who had done great things with the team over the years.

I applied, got shortlisted and had my interview and about a week later received my appointment phone call from Mr Nabeal Dien and so my journey with WP started in June 2018.

What is your motto as a coach?

Kindness... I believe that kindness can bring about growth, openness to learning and listening, increase trust between people and can help make players/coaches become better all round people - All through just being kind.

What are the top 5 songs in your playlist that hype you up?

Panic at the Disco - High Hopes
Panic at the Disco - Greatest Showman
Fall out Boy - Thanks for the Memories
Tiesto - The Business
Tiesto - Boom

Having played a Test in your International career, what is the kind of mental/physical preparation needed before a Test match? Is this different from the limited formats?

Yeah, I've played in one official Test but had to prepare for many... There wasn't much difference in preparing as we played Red Ball cricket at Senior Provincial level... I was an opening batter and the same characteristics are needed in a Test match as what was needed in a 50 over match - Patience, courage, tight fundamentals upfront with the new ball, knowing which line to play at and which to leave... and obviously taking responsibility to be the one to set the innings up and bat through.

Although nowadays, our ladies play a lot of White ball cricket and play a very attacking brand of cricket. There would need to be a change in how we would play the red ball game with regard to how a player would pace their innings and set themselves up because there is so much more time.

Also needing to face more red balls as it swings a lot more than the white ball, so slight adjustments in timing would be needed - Especially upfront with the new ball. I could go into so much more about this topic but let's leave it there

When did you decide to go into coaching?

I was still playing Senior Provincial and International cricket when I started with my coaching levels - Andre du Plessis saw something in me, more than just being able to play the game and he got me in to High Performance Coaching and mentored me along the way, still to this day he is around helping me and encouraging me.

8. What is the importance of the KFC Mini-Cricket festivals for involvement and development of young girls and boys getting into the game?

The KFC program is so very important as it doesn't only introduce the game to younger players but also gets coaches involved at junior school level, across the country.

The mass participation and fun of the KFC program has become so evident and exposes kids and adults alike to the beautiful game of cricket. Whilst learning how to be in a team and share in both wins and losses as a team - this way we teach growth and rules of the sport and in learn valuable life skills.

Were it not for cricket, which other career(s) would you have pursued?

So, I would've either gone in to teaching (Cos I'd still be able to coach) or Dietetics, where I'd still be working and dealing with people

Favourite Cricket player? Female & male

Jonty Rhodes - Male
Sophia Dunkley - Female (Stayed unbiased on this one )

Who motivates you most?

My Grandad was my biggest motivator, my biggest supporter - when he passed on, my whole family stepped in and I find the support of my family my greatest motivator.

Take us through a typical day as the Pipeline Head coach
This is my typical day in the off-season... During season gets a lot busier as can be expected

06h00: Wake up for gym
06h30 - 07h30: Gym
08h00 - Breakfast etc
09h00: Pick up player for a morning skills session

10h00 - 12h30: Group Session with HP players

13h00 - 15h00: Admin work completed, have lunch at my desk.

15h30 - 16h30: Light weight training before team gym session (Monday and Wednesdays)

17h00 - 19h00: WP Womens Team gym and SAQ sessions (Monday and Wednesday).

19h15 - Leave to head home.

Manchester United or Liverpool?

Glory Glory Man United!!!

What are your thoughts on the importance of the development of players at grassroots level?

It is extremely important, for me, it is the most important area of our pipeline. We need to develop more quality coaches that would like to stay developing players at grassroots and not have a need or want to move to higher ranks, right away.

In this way, we develop our players and our coaches with solid foundations, thereby creating a turnaround of both quality players and coaches as people move up to the next level over time. I know it's easier said than done but it'll be fantastic for the growth of our game as the development of fundamentals will have been tightly instilled and that's a great start.

What do you do to relax?

Netflix Series, Watch Cricket (Women's and Men's), Hike, Build Lego, go fishing when I can and play some golf if I have partners

As a coach in the domestic structure, what is your opinion on the importance of preparing players sufficiently for Test format in both the men’s and women’s game?

The men's structure already allows for the red ball game to be practiced and played. At National Weeks, the boys have time cricket, which later evolved into 3 day cricket in the Senior Mens space and 4 day in the Franchise space (That's how the Senior space used to work). Mens club cricket also used to have 2 day cricket at the amateur level.

Women do not play enough test matches and the systems have been adapted to allow for more white ball cricket to take place but only at Senior Women's level. Clubs and National weeks still get played with a red ball but no multi-day format.

If we have anything to go by the recent Test match - Eng vs India - Test cricket has definitely had an awakening in the women's space and the players want to play the format, to me it's still the purest form of the game and really tests players overall skillsets.

How important is the team dynamic?

Very important, a team without a positive dynamic that everyone agrees on and works towards can become a toxic space. It's about trust in each other that creates a safe dynamic and space - which goes back to my philosophy of kindness.

17. The CSA pipeline focuses on talent identification. What would you do in a situation where a player is 100% committed to training and development, is punctual and focused, works hard to achieve results, but lacks the sought-after talent?

Keep working with that player, keep being honest with the player about where they are along their game/path. We don't dictate opportunities but we can prepare the player as best we can, to be ready for when an opportunity arises. Talent isn't always what nudges players ahead, it's what you do with the talent that you have that can create the opportunity for you.

Adrian Birrell 

Adi Birrell started coaching in a very different era, in the 1980s. He was 24 and things were very different back then. 

So, it's safe to say he has seen it all.

From coaching kids without equipment and proper facilities in the townships to taking Ireland to the 2007 World Cup and then now at Hampshire County Cricket Club, Birrel has coached at every level.

We chat about his journey, his philosophy and beliefs.