How you can help us

By Khalid Mohidin

Hey, guys! Welcome to another issue of Cricket Fanatics Magazine, the first and only fan-driven Cricket publication in South Africa.

We started this venture on 1 July 2019 with a vision to get fans from all walks of life engaged with the game and give them access to the personalities in South African 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 to provide entertaining, engaging and educational content.

But haven'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, and 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.

In the past, the super-rich supported the work of artists as patrons of the art.

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

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
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So please join our Patreon today initiative today. Even a tiny amount can make a big difference.

SA ‘A’ tour to Sri Lanka sets standard for Proteas ahead of World Cup

By Marc Jacobson

Proteas ODI and T20I head coach, Rob Walter, was able to dig healthily into South Africa’s depth of talent during the SA ‘A’ tour to Sri Lanka in June, and it was a tour that was rather purposeful, especially in a World Cup year.

The SA ‘A’ contingent of players, essentially regarded as the Proteas B-team, played against Sri Lanka ‘A’ on away soil and went head-to-head in three unofficial ODIs – followed by two unofficial Test matches – and won the series 2-1.

All the chasing teams were victorious, as the South Africans won the first encounter by 4 wickets with 53 balls to spare (SL ‘A’ 264-8, SA ‘A’ 268-6).

This was followed by a Sri Lankan victory in the second game, with the hosts winning by a comfortable seven wickets with 126 balls remaining (SA ‘A’ 175, SL ‘A’ 178-3). Resiliently, the visitors won the decider by 5 wickets with 85 balls left (SL ‘A 172, SA ‘A’ 175-5).

The squad was composed of a mix of experienced and youthful players, and not only was this an ideal way to strike a decent balance within the group, but it was also a good manner in which to gauge how each individual sought to discover their identities.

“The real positive for the players was just for them to be exposed to different conditions, and then to play against quality opposition in their own home conditions,” Walter told Cricket Fanatics Magazine. “That’s always proved to be the hardest challenge, especially for sides touring the sub-continent.

“For young guys, a lot of them have never been to Sri Lanka or played against that type of quality opposition. [Those were in] conditions that were, in some ways, quite different to what we’d [usually] encounter.

“You’d have to think the players had been learning all the time. We really wanted to focus our attention on asking the questions around our learnings, while encouraging guys to explore their games and not to be scared of making mistakes.

"More importantly, [it was] to test their games against quality opposition and seeing where they ended up after that.”

Certain players had surely ticked various boxes on the tour and had excelled in these trials, which could bode well for them ahead of the international season.

Stand-out performances with the bat included Dewald Brevis’ knock of 98* in the first ODI, Tristan Stubbs’ 59 in the second match and tail-ender Gerald Coetzee’s industrious 77 in that same innings.

Stubbs again impressed in the third, scoring a hard-earned 58*, which was supported strongly by Senuran Muthusamy’s 45*, as the duo helped SA ‘A’ to cross the line and clinch the series.

With the ball, there were fewer highlights, but Lutho Sipamla’s figures of 3-33 in the first game and Coetzee’s stellar contribution of 5-48 in the third encounter both stood out the most.

“From a selection point-of-view, we’re always looking for performances and guys who’re winning games for their teams, whether that be for league cricket around the world, the SA ‘A’ or in the domestic league for their provincial sides,” Walter said.

“Those are all important – there is not one that is more important than another. There is no doubt watching the guys perform against SL ‘A’ – knowing that there are several internationals in their side – gave a good read on the quality of the players.”

He said the SA ‘A’ group was initially selected based on all the players’ respective performances during the last domestic tournaments, adding that “we’d like to see those guys back it up again in the domestic season ahead."

With the next Cricket South Africa (CSA) Provincial One-Day Challenge expected to commence in August or September, there is no time to waste for players to stake a claim for a Proteas call-up with the World Cup starting in early October.

Walter, who was only appointed as the Proteas white ball coach in early January, acknowledged that SA has a “good standard” in their talent pool. This, he said, is evidenced by many South African players’ involvement – and successes – in various elite white ball leagues around the world.

In terms of the feeder system, which starts at school, before going on to under-19 and then the second and first divisions of the senior provincial tournaments, there is “lots of playing opportunity for guys to get into professional cricket”.

With the advent of the SA20, the “quality will just improve”, the 47-year-old explained. The SA ‘A’ side then serves as a token of how much players have performed consistently and how quickly they’ve adapted to top-level cricket.

“The SA ‘A’ is a mixture of the next best cricketers, as well as the identified up-and-coming cricketers in the country. We want to make sure there is a strong, healthy balance there, where we’re playing our next best, while also giving identified players the opportunity to play at a higher level.

“There is no doubt international ‘A’ cricket is a step-up from domestic cricket, so it’s a vital cog in the wheel, really, for guys to get as close to the level of international level cricket as possible.

“You’d hope this is a way for young players in the country to be able to see the path forward.”

Walter, who had previously worked as a strength and conditioning coach for the Proteas for several years, before excelling in head coaching roles for the Titans and in New Zealand, said the Sri Lankan series also provided an ideal opportunity for him to build cohesion within the national set-up.

“Being the white ball coach, it was just good to connect with the players who I haven’t [connected with] before, or haven’t for a long time.

“Seeing them play under pressure and at a higher level, [I was able] to learn more about their games and where their skill levels sit,” said Walter, who served as an assistant coach of the SA ‘A’ side, with Shukri Conrad having stood in as head coach.

“I was there to help and observe. I was very encouraged by the [2-1 series] result. I knew there were quality players in the team, and if they were to play as well as they could then they’d have a good chance of winning the series.

“The most heartening point was to see players playing under pressure, impacting a game and being match-winners.”

These sorts of qualities serve as a solid yardstick for a national side building up to a World Cup, which meant this Sri Lankan tour came at probably the best time possible. This especially rings true because the World Cup, hosted by India, will also take place in sub-continent conditions.

How South Africa U19 aligns with South Africa ‘A’ and senior team

By Stuart Judge

South Africa's youth system is an important aspect of our pipeline. Over the years the South Africa U19 system has produced plenty of young cricketers who have gone on to form an integral part of the national setup.

To try and get a better understanding of where the system currently stands, we spoke to one of the great cricketing minds of this country, the current U19 head coach and Head of the National Academy, Malibongwe Maketa.

The theme of the interview centred around the South African U19s and how the current youth development programs can help produce players that are good enough for provincial and international levels.

The opening question that was asked was based on what Talent Identification strategies are being used by Cricket South Africa to unearth young talent.

Maketa responded to this question by separating talent identification into three categories: “Technical Qualities, Seeing the players on a few occasions, and Mental Resilience”.

He emphasized that in terms of technical qualities (in this specific example he spoke about batting), the selection committee looks for the following qualities: “The ability to pick up the length, play the right shots and adapt to different situations accordingly”.

Maketa also highlighted that the selection committee bases their selection, “After watching the players on a few occasions”.
He stated that he firmly believes in using team psychologists to help players not only become more resilient but to help them develop into holistic members of society.

When it comes to talent identification it is important to understand that professional sportsmen often spend a lot of time away from home, so they need to be able to cope with the demands of international cricket.

We have also seen the success that the Proteas side endured after the 2007 World Cup, where we saw players like Hashim Amla, AB de Villers, JP Duminy, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander become legends of the game.

The next question that was asked to Maketa centred around the integration of young cricketers into senior cricket. Maketa responded to this question by stating, “I am not a fan of chucking young players in the deep end and having a sink or swim philosophy. I firmly believe that you have to make sure that the players have the mental tools to cope in senior cricket”.

In terms of coaching the players, he also emphasized that “It is also extremely important for the players to learn to adapt to different conditions.

“School and club coaches also must try to play younger players in higher age groups, so that we can see how well they adapt”.

Maketa qualified his philosophy.

“It is very seldom that you see once-in-a-lifetime cricketers such as Jacques Kallis come through the system, so you have to make sure that you take an individualistic approach for each player to integrate them into senior cricket”.

The third aspect that was discussed was centred around the difficulties in integrating young players into playing three or four-day cricket, as they are not exposed to it at a school level.

“The major challenge for the young cricketers in our country is due to a lack of opportunities. In the recent SA A tour of Sri Lanka, we have seen players like Tristan Stubbs (who hasn’t been playing a lot of four-day cricket) score a hundred."

He openly praised the re-structuring of the domestic cricket system by saying, “Hopefully the re-structuring of the domestic system will also enable more players to get more opportunities.

“Whilst I was a young cricketer at school, there used to be three-day U19 tournaments that allowed young cricketers to practice batting or bowling for prolonged periods.”

Maketa indicated that he and other board members (such as Enoch Nkwe) are currently having discussions to re-introduce these types of tournaments if funds allow it.

This could aid the player’s ability in playing red-ball cricket. Three-day tournaments can be introduced as school-based tournaments (such as the KES or St. John’s rugby festivals) which could form the basis for selection for the “Cubs Week”.

The re-structuring of the domestic tournament has also seen an increase in teams as opposed to the franchise system which offered limited opportunities for players.

The final aspect of the interview centred around the U19s' alignment with Cricket South Africa.

When asked about his coaching philosophy, Maketa responded by saying,

“It is important that you identify the player’s strengths and weaknesses early on so that their role is clarified. If you focus on using the player’s strengths rather than trying to change them into something they are not, you are at risk of not getting the most out of the player’s natural ability.”

Maketa also highlighted the importance of alignment camps.

“The U19s have alignment camps so that the players and staff are aware of what is expected from them. The alignment camps also help us to address areas of concern before matches are played.”

He also indicated that the communication between the Head Coaches (himself, Rob Walter, and Shukri Conrad) ensures a clean and consistent line of communication between the men’s team and the U19s.

This stance makes sense because if coaches do not use the players’ strengths, then they may risk discouraging the player from playing the sport altogether as they will struggle to adapt to their new role.

The alignment camps have not only been a useful tool in addressing technical deficiencies, but, they also help to ensure that the players are aware of each other’s strengths and weaknesses and know what to expect.

The clear line in communication between the three coaches has also helped to ensure that the transition between senior and junior cricket is made easier.

In conclusion, it seems like the brain’s trust aims for the U19 side to form the base for the senior provincial sides and senior national sides. Whilst we as fans may want this talent to be, “thrown in at the deep end” after watching them dominate on SuperSport Schools or YouTube. We have to consider whether the players are mentally ready to adjust to senior cricket.

With a coach like Malibongwe Maketa who has a proven track record with sides like the Warriors (as a Head Coach), the Titans (as an Assistant Coach) and the Proteas as an interim and assistant coach, chances are great that we will see a significant influx of U19 players being integrated into first-class and international cricket.

Swanepoel Rewarded for performances

By Abhai Sawkar

Upon the conclusion of every domestic season, the standout performers are contending for further recognition at the CSA Awards ceremony.

Over the years, recipients have gone on to realize their international cricketing dreams. One such recent example is Beyers Swanepoel, a richly talented seam-bowling allrounder whose meteoric rise has brought forth plenty of accolades.

Having already made the SA A side, Swanepoel has confidently made serious progress throughout the 2022-2023 season. The Warriors star earned the SACA MVP award, and he had the following to say to Cricket Fanatics Magazine:

“At the end of the season, I was at the top of the SACA rankings. But honestly, I didn’t think that there would be an award. I felt there would only be a quick announcement, so I’m very happy to get the MVP award. It’s the cherry on top of all the hard work I’ve put in. I’ve always dreamed of playing Division 1 cricket.”

While he’s savouring the moment, Swanepoel is very mindful of the challenges that lie ahead. Reaching the top of the rankings was quite the journey, which also earned him the 4-Day Series Player of the Year.

The urge to maintain consistency will be keeping him on his toes.

“It might be relatively easy to be good at something, but it’s more difficult to remain there. That will be the biggest challenge heading into the next season. I want to improve my skills and become a better player. It’s very special to be crowned the 4-Day Player of the Year. That too in my first Division 1 season for the Warriors under coach Robbie [Robin Peterson].”

After a successful stint with the Warriors, Swanepoel got his first SA A call-up for the Sri Lanka tour. It was his first time travelling there, and amid all the excitement, he was ready to take the initiative when presented with a priceless opportunity.

The highlight for Swanepoel was getting a chance to learn from the incumbent Proteas Test coach, Shukri Conrad.

Since he took over the reins in the longer format, Conrad has been off to a promising start in terms of early results as well as accommodating newcomers in the mix.

“We had a pre-tour camp in Pretoria for around 5 days before we went to Kandy. I was in the UK for a little over a month and didn’t play a whole lot of cricket there. So I had to arrive and start preparing for the conditions on offer. My main focus was playing spin. Working with Coach Shukri was an honour and something I’ll cherish.

“He spoke a lot about how he plans to improve the Test side. If we can take some of his advice into our franchises, it’ll be for the better.

"Coach Rob [Walter] wasn’t there for the Tests, but the way he worked with the white-ball teams and the knowledge he shared was valuable.”

Understandably, the playing conditions in SL were relatively tougher, but the South Africans won the one-day series. Swanepoel starred with a handy cameo of 43 and gave the big-hitting Dewald Brevis important support to close out a tense chase in the first match.

“It’s a World Cup year, and given that the national coach was there, it was also an opportunity for some of us to put our hands up for a spot in the limited-overs sides. We played one four-day game in Kandy, but we weren’t on the best side of things.”

Swanepoel was initially chosen to take part in the longer format, but he was fortunate enough to play all three one-dayers. His performance in the third 50-over game was a brilliant display as the first-change seamer (1-15 in 8 overs).

“It felt really special to make a mark in the first game, alongside Dewald Brevis. There are a few open spots in the one-day side, and he was batting at No 7 in that game even though he opens for the Titans. He’s a serious cricketer.”

Swanepoel is proof positive of the fearlessness and gung-ho attitude among the next crop of South African cricketers. From a fruitful all-round domestic season, possibly to the brink of national selection, several things have fallen in place for the 25-year-old. His potential across formats has materialized well, and the only way is forward.

Test Cricket the aim for Breetzke

By Ongama Gcwabe

The 24-year-old Matthew Breetzke might be out in Zimbabwe with the Cape Town Samp Army in the Zim Afro T10 competition, but his heart is mainly focused on earning that precious Proteas Baggy Green this summer.

The versatile batter finished top-run scorer in the 2022/23 season 4-Day Series and did so batting at four, an unfamiliar batting position for the youngster seeing that he opened the batting for a good part of his First-Class career.

Nonetheless, the youngster has thrived in the middle order and it seems the change in batting position has put him in line for a Test call-up as Shukri Conrad looks to boost the Proteas middle-order options.

“My primary focus is Test cricket,” Breetzke told Cricket Fanatics Magazine.

“I really want to crack into that Test side. That’s basically the plan.”

Breetzke’s first assignment following his stellar 4-Day Series campaign was to show the same skill and hunger for big scores at the international level and coach Conrad provided him with an opportunity to do so in Sri Lanka.

Breetzke told Cricket Fanatics that he knew of the importance of the tour to Sri Lanka with the South Africa A team for his ambition to play Test cricket in the future.

He spoke of gaining valuable international experience as Sri Lanka Test bowlers Lasith Embuldeniya and Vishwa Fernando were available for the A tour.

“It (the Sri Lanka A tour) was really good in terms of gathering experience playing in those conditions,” said Breetzke.

“On a personal note, I’m pretty happy with how I was batting, I was feeling really good. Also, I think we were ahead of the Sri Lanka A team in terms of skill and adapting to those conditions, so all in all, it was a good tour.

“In the Unofficial Tests, I wanted to get big scores, but I only got a 60 odd. My sort of objectives going into that tour was to make a huge impact and win games for the team,” he added.

Conrad brought international experience with him in his backroom staff as former Proteas batting consultant Justin Sammons was present on the tour to help upskill and guide the young SA A batters into international cricket.

Conrad and his staff focused on setting standards for the youngsters and making them understand where they need to be to have a crack at Test cricket.

“They gave all of us a little bit of a taste of what they expect from us as the next-in-line sort of players,” said Breetzke.

“They gave us a lot of insight on what is expected of us skill-wise, the mentality and how they want us to play as we knock on that door for call-ups.

“Shukri wants us to play positive cricket and smart cricket. He is big on playing the conditions in front of us on the day.”

Most importantly, the coaching philosophy employed by Conrad and the vision he has for SA cricket is what is most refreshing.

Breetzke spoke of Conrad’s main focus and how he goes about building Test match-ready cricketers.

“What I gathered on that A tour and having worked with him in the national academy five years ago is that he aims to build teams based on character instead of averages and stats.

“He’s big on – ‘character over cover drives. It’s more about how you get your runs and take your wickets,” Breetzke added.

The Gqeberha-born Breetzke might be in the running for a Test call-up as early as this summer for the India Test series.

Even if he doesn’t play, a call-up will carry a massive weight to a young player that has been scoring big runs on the tough-to-bat on coastal wickets.

Having had a taste of international cricket through last month’s Sri Lanka tour, Breetzke can almost see himself in the Proteas whites in the future and that is a refreshing thought seeing that there are only two players in the Proteas batting group still in their 20s.

“There is definitely an opportunity in that Test side. For me to get in that side, I have to carry my weight of runs into next season (2023/24). Hopefully, I put my name in the hat for that India series,” said Breetzke.

“I pride myself on scoring runs when it’s tough. Scoring runs on the coast is pretty hard and I’ve been doing that.

“Also when the opposition bowling attack is tough like when we (Warriors) played the Lions at the Wanderers last season, they had KG (Rabada) and that hundred I scored there really meant a lot for me,” Breetzke concluded.

Q&A: Matthew Boast

By Jessica & Janine October

How and where did your cricketing journey begin?

My cricket career began at the age of 7. I’d say a bit earlier than that, on the lawn of my grandparents’ house. My grandfather used to throw a couple of balls to me and I’d stand in front of a tree and mess around like that but I probably go into it at the age of 7 playing red ball hard ball cricket. It just took off from there.

You were selected to compete at the CSA Senior provincial competition in Bloemfontein in 2021, what were your thoughts going into the tournament?

In 2021 just before Bloem, I was really really excited. It was going to be an awesome opportunity and unfortunately, I got injured just before but it would’ve been awesome just to be a part of it and I was super privileged and it felt like such an honour to represent my country for the first time it would’ve been awesome but unfortunately I picked up an injury which just pushed me a bit more to continue to try and be in the setup.

You bowled 3/26 at the U19 Cricket World Cup in the West Indies against Ireland in 2022, describe how you felt.

That spell against Ireland at the world cup was something I’ll remember for the rest of my life. I just felt like everything was going exactly the way I wanted it to go, and it just felt surreal to be in that environment, especially having my family there watching all the way in the West Indies it was a really special day for me. I couldn’t believe it at the time, but it was really special to be out there.

it What have you learned from the U19 WC tournament, what have you taken with you into your cricket career? (positives/negatives).

The U19 world cup taught me quite a lot. Being there around those players in that environment it showed me what’s needed to play at the best level or one of the best levels.

If I wanted to make it in professional cricket what was needed to be done, just the intensity I thought was something new to me and it helped me perform under pressure. I feel like now under pressure situations I know what to do, go back to basics. It was a really awesome experience.

You made your debut for the SA U19 squad vs Easterns in 2022 for the CSA Provincial T20 Cup in Pietermaritzburg, winning by 5 wickets. How did you feel?

Yes, the debut for the U19 side was a really cool day I remember batting with Brevi [Brevis] for a bit and bowling into that wind against the men’s side it was a new experience for me and being able to be out there representing your country it was something that I will never forget.

As an allrounder, how do you manage to balance both batting and bowling?

As an allrounder, the one thing that I do is make sure that I focus on both aspects with the same amount of time and effort. So, say if I bowl 6 overs in the nets at full pace and really giving it my all I make sure I try to do a batting session after that and then maybe the next time bat first and then bowl after that, and just make sure you distribute your time equally across both aspects.

You also had the opportunity to be a net bowler at the SA20 for the Paarl Royals. How would you describe the experience being around players such as Jos Butler, Jason Roy, David Miller? What have you learned?

Yes being a part of that Paarl Royals setup and being a net bowler there yoh was something special being able to rub shoulders with Jos Butler, Jason Roy and David Miller was really really a big experience for me.

I learned quite a lot about my game there, you’ve got to concentrate on every single ball. I spoke to Miller about my plans after bowling to him and just getting that experience bowling against guys at the top level in your game. It really teaches you a lot about what needs to be done and what needs to happen in order to get to that standard of playing.

You debuted for the Titans at the CSA 4-Day Series in 2023, what was your experience during that tournament?

My debut for the Titans was something I’ve been dreaming of for a long time. For me, it’s a really special place and being able to put on that cap and put on that baggy blue was yoh it was a really really cool moment.

My dad actually surprised me, he wasn’t going to be able to make it and I was at 3rd man and I turned around and he was there which made it even more special, for him to be there on my debut game and for us to end up with the win was also really cool to be a part of that, and to get the ball rolling on a good note.

Who is your biggest inspiration as a cricketer?

My biggest inspiration has got to be Vince van der Bijl. He’s my Great-uncle, my mom's uncle and he’s been there for me and given me so much advice over the years and just knowing what he’s done in the cricketing space, him being a part of my family. 

So having him there giving me advice has been really cool. The odd phone call really helps when you’re not feeling too good and he gives that advice on what to do, it’s really nice to have someone like that to look up to, especially in your family.

Do you support a football (soccer) team? If so, which team?

I do support football, I’m quite into it, actually I support Liverpool. Unfortunately, we’re not doing too well at the moment but yes through thick and thin. Ja you’ll never walk alone.

Are you following any TV series?

I was actually following a TV series, but I’ve just recently stopped because of studying and test week coming up but, I was watching The Office and yoh, I’ve been loving it so much.

Top 3 songs on your playlist at the moment?

My top three songs at the moment have got to be:
Breakfast in Soweto – Prince Kaybee
Hall of Fame - The Script
Iris – Goo Goo Dolls