Mahatlane expecting challenge from Zimbabwe in Youth ODI

Coach Lawrence Mahatlane believes his team will be up for a contest when South Africa take on Zimbabwe in their third match of the Youth One-Day (ODI) Quadrangular series in Durban on Tuesday.

After going down by 66 runs to India in the first game, which was followed by an impressive five-wicket win over New Zealand, the Under-19 SA team will be looking to make it back-to-back victories against Zimbabwe and earn a place in the series finale taking place on Thursday.

Mahatlane highlighted the performances of Zimbabwe in the four-team series so far, in their defeats to New Zealand and India, stating that his side will have to be on their game against a side featuring players that attend school in South Africa.

“A lot of the Zim players play in South Africa in schoolboy cricket,” said Mahatlane. “One of their best players, Wesley (Madhevere), is at St Charles College and we’ve seen him dominate in Schools T20 Cricket.

“It’s a good side at age-group level and it will be a good challenge. They were unlucky to lose to New Zealand and managed to score 200 against an Indian bowling attack. We know how good they can be and it is important that we stick to our processes and if we get them right, we should be okay.

“Hopefully we can keep building on what we’ve done so far,” Mahatlane added.

The matches are being used as key preparation for the Under-19 Cricket World Cup to be hosted in South Africa from January 17 to February 9.

In the other match in the Quadrangular, New Zealand will be up against the undefeated India side at the Chatsworth Oval.

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