Cape Town – Cricket South Africa (CSA) on Wednesday announced the home fixtures for the South Africa under-19s, with two Youth One-Day International (ODI) series penned in against India, Zimbabwe and New Zealand between December 26 2019-January 9 2020.

Ahead of the 2020 ICC U19 Cricket World Cup in South Africa from January 17-February 9, the SA U19s will take on defending champions, India, in a three-match Youth ODI series at Buffalo Park in East London at the end of December this year.

Head coach Lawrence Mahatlane and his team will then finalise their tournament preparations with an enthralling quadrangular series against India, Zimbabwe and New Zealand between January 3-9 – with the matches alternating between Kingsmead Cricket Ground and the Chatsworth Oval in Durban.

These two competitive inbound tours alongside the junior Proteas’ seven-match Youth ODI series against Pakistan next month (June 22-July 7) in Durban and Pietermaritzburg will provide the identified players with an opportunity to showcase their skills in pursuit of a place in the 15-man squad.

CSA High Performance Manager Vincent Barnes highlighted one of the crucial reasons for arranging the fixtures, with the team playing more than ten 50-over matches ahead of the opening game of the World Cup.

“It is an exciting time for U19 cricket in South Africa, with the World Cup coming here next year,” Barnes commented.

“These matches will provide the ideal preparation for Lawrence (Mahatlane) and his team ahead of a home tournament and will expose these young men to crucial time spent in the middle before the opening match on the 17th of January.

“The majority of this team has recently been to India and they learnt a lot on that tour, so it is going to be great to host and play the sub-continent team at home later this year, with the two sides playing very competitive cricket. With our neighbours, Zimbabwe, and New Zealand also added in pre-World Cup matches, our players will get a good idea of what’s to come when the real tournament gets underway.

“There’s going to be a lot of cricket for these young men between now and then, so we hope to see a few of them raise their hands through their performances,” Barnes added.

SA under-19s squad against Pakistan: Youth ODI series

Bryce Parsons (captain, Gauteng), Luke Beaufort (Eastern Province), Jonathan Bird (Western Province), Achille Cloete (Boland), Gerald Coetzee (Free State), Khanya Cotani (North West), Michael Copeland (Gauteng), Andrew Louw (Free State), Akeem Minaar (Boland), Lifa Ntanzi (KZN Coastal), Imraan Philander (Western Province), Siya Plaatjie (Western Province), Ruan Terblanche (Boland), Tiaan van Vuuren (Eastern Province), Nonelela Yika (Border)

SA U19 Youth ODI series against Pakistan U19 in Durban and Pietermaritzburg

June 19, Warm Up Match – KZN Academy vs Pakistan U19 (Varsity Oval)

June 22, 1st Youth ODI – South Africa vs Pakistan U19 (Chatsworth Oval)

June 25, 2nd Youth ODI – South Africa vs Pakistan U19 (Pietermaritzburg)

June 27, 3rd Youth ODI – South Africa vs Pakistan U19 (Pietermaritzburg)

June 30, 4th Youth ODI- South Africa vs Pakistan U19 (Pietermaritzburg)

July 2, 5th Youth ODI – South Africa vs Pakistan U19 (Pietermaritzburg)

July 5, 6th Youth ODI – South Africa vs Pakistan U19 (Chatsworth Oval)

July 7, 7th Youth ODI – South Africa vs Pakistan U19 (Chatsworth Oval)

SA U19 Youth ODI series against India U19 in East London

December 23, Warm Up Match – Border Inv XI vs India U19  (Police Park)

December 26, 1st Youth ODI – South Africa U19  vs India U19 (Buffalo Park Cricket Stadium)

December 28, 2nd Youth ODI – South Africa U19 vs India U19 (Buffalo Park Cricket Stadium)

December 30, 3rd Youth ODI – South Africa U19 vs India U19 (Buffalo Park Cricket Stadium)  

SA U19 Youth ODI Quadrangular series against India, New Zealand & Zimbabwe in Durban

January 3, 1st Youth ODI – South Africa U19  vs India U19 (Kingsmead Cricket Ground)

January 3,  2nd Youth ODI – New Zealand U19 vs Zimbabwe U19 (Chatsworth Cricket Oval)

January 5, 3rd Youth ODI – India U19 vs Zimbabwe U19 (Kingsmead Cricket Ground)

January 5, 4th Youth ODI – South Africa U19  vs New Zealand U19 (Chatsworth Cricket Oval)

January 7, 5th Youth ODI – South Africa U19  vs Zimbabwe U19 (Kingsmead Cricket Ground)

January 7, 6th Youth ODI – India U19 vs New Zealand U19 (Chatsworth Cricket Oval)

January 9, 7th Youth ODI (Bronze)- 3rd Place vs 4th Place (Chatsworth Cricket Oval)

January 9, 8th Youth ODI (Final) – 1st Place vs 2nd Place (Kingsmead Cricket Ground)