Paul Adams urges SA U19 team to trust themselves in upcoming World Cup

Adams is part of head coach Malibongwe Maketa’s technical team for the tournament, and says the young men should use it as part of a learning process for their senior careers, but should also play with confidence and know how to deal with different situations they’ll face in the game. South Africa begin their tournament against Afghanistan on January 16 in Windhoek.

"I think a lot of these players go through a journey of learning the game of cricket and understanding the ebbs and flows of the game. You also have to look at the technical aspect of things considering that these are younger players, and they need to learn how to adapt their games to a very high level because at the World Cup, you are playing against the world's best."

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Adams is also confident that they will be comfortable with the conditions they’re going to play on at the High Performance Oval in Windhoek, a venue they’re very familiar with having played there recently.

He says the players also know their way around the facilities which will make it easier for them to adapt.

The former Proteas spin ace says the decision on whether they want to chase or defend a total at the World Cup will be made on a horses for courses basis. He says they have prepared for any situation that they may face.

"It's all got to do with the conditions on the day. As any coach or cricketer, you walk onto the field and look at the state of the wicket as well as the overhead conditions, together with other factors that you have to take into account."

Adams says they have been preparing the players for this moment for a few years now, and have known exactly what each of them can do from an early age.

"It's about a two year cycle that happens, so we've seen a lot of these players since they were 16 years old and we've taken a journey with them through various tours and camps to prepare them for this big tournament."