SA U19 coach Malibongwe Maketa happy with World Cup preparations

Maketa’s side are currently in the middle of a three-match Youth Series against India in Benoni, where they trail 2-0 already with only one match left to play.

He says although they’re disappointed to have lost the first two matches, it’s good for them to play such quality opposition and tick a few boxes before the big tournament starting in less than ten days.

"We are disappointed to be 2-0 down in the series, but looking at the exercise leading up to the World Cup, it's been really good for us to get the exposure against a quality team. We know what kind of work needs to be done going forward."

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The coach says they still have a bit of work to do in different areas within the team, having missed out on a lot of preparation time due to the players’ exams.

They will have the final match of the series tomorrow, plus two warm-up games against Sri-Lanka and Australia in Windhoek to get things right before their opening match against Afghanistan on January 16.

Both matches of this Youth Series so far have been affected by rain, and Maketa believes this is good preparation for what they might face in the two fellow Southern African countries.

South Africa won the toss in both those matches, and while they decided to bowl in the first game, they changed to batting first in the second.

Maketa explained the rationale behind this.

"We wanted to make sure that we get as much exposure in both disciplines. Another leading factor was that the wicket had been used twice already so we knew it was going to be slow at the back end.