The UCBSA
Development Program - 2000

TRANSFORMATION

The majority of transformation targets were reached on all fronts last year. One of the main highlights was the fact that 23 players of colour played senior provincial cricket on a regular and successful basis. One of them, Justin Ontong was awarded Man of the Match in the Standard Bank Cup Final. Also rewarding was the emergence of the Eastern Province trio of Mfuneko Ngam, Robin Peterson and Garnett Kruger.

On the coaching front, we were pleased to see the successful introduction of coaches like Vincent Barnes, Russell Domingo and Shukri Conrad at the and South African A Team level.

SPONSORS

are now actively involved in more than 300 schools, assisting in supporting existing cricketing schools and establishing new ones in the townships. They also play a very important role in supporting general development around the country. Several young players on MTN-UCB scholarships are beginning to show rewarding progress, with five scholarship players being selected to represent South Africa at the Under I5 World Challenge in August.

A very successful National Seminar was held in Bloemfontein last year where new plans and strategies were formed for the future. More than 90 delegates from the 11 provinces and Transkei picked each other' s brains for three days and came up with a Plan of Action for this year. Features of this plan include more cricketers, more quality coaches and more club involvement.

Eleven provincial festivals were held in August and September with provincial players and UCB Board Members attending.

More than 540 pitches have now been completed and we are still well on track to reaching our target of 1,000 completed facilities by 2003.

The Under 13 week was again a great success in introducing our young stars to the world of representative cricket.

Standard Bank's sponsorship of the Tertiary week again ensured that the development of cricket will endure for generations to come.

and South African cricket partnership achieved a major highlight last year when our team that was selected for the Under 15 World Challenge made the semi-finals, only to be knocked out in extremely unfortunate circumstances by the West Indies.

The squad, which included eight players of colour, was extremely well led by Mandikahle Dipha of Eastern Province.

The Coca-Cola week again proved a major success. A new innovation was the introduction of a Coca-Cola B week, which gave more players the opportunity to play at a higher level. The SA Under 19 team sponsored by Coca-Cola is to tour New Zealand in February 2001.

With a budget now in the region of R35 million, cricket development looks more secure than ever. Furthermore, the development structures around the country still form a very strong backbone for our projects and overall vision.