Former Proteas spinner Paul Adams will work with South Africa Emerging during this season’s One-Day Cup.
Adams, who has not been recontracted as Border head coach, recently worked with South Africa Under-19 in Bangladesh – and played for the Texas Chargers in the USA Masters T10.
Former Proteas batting coach Justin Sammons will also be among the South Africa Emerging coaching staff, which will be led by head coach Malibongwe Maketa.
South Africa Emerging will compete in division two of the One-Day Cup for the first time. Their opening fixture is with the Knights on Tuesday.
“I believe it’s essential for us, as Cricket South Africa, to continually emphasise the importance of nurturing young talent within division two teams and ensure that our younger players have increased opportunities to participate in this division over time,” said Maketa.
“It will also offer an opportunity for our younger players to gain valuable match experience and ultimately expand the talent pool within our domestic structures.”
South Africa Emerging’s XIs will comprise players aged 18 to 23 years old, including South Africa Under-19, National Academy and division two high-performance contracted players.
“We’ve made sure to focus on younger players, who we feel that in two seasons from now, will be playing in division one,” added Maketa.
“We have selected a few under-19 players that will be competing in next year’s Under-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka. We felt it was important to expose them to playing under pressure against good opposition because that is what they are going to experience at the World Cup.
“We have also selected a few guys that are part of the National Academy, and I am looking forward to seeing how they implement the skills they learnt during the winter camps to match situations.
“Our team composition will vary from game to game, on account of some guys writing exams, which will pose a minor challenge in terms of building momentum and getting the guys to learn as quickly as I would like.
“However, I am aiming to establish a core group of six players who will uphold the team’s values, and I hope that this will ultimately lead to positive results in the competition.”