Mnyaka relishes World Cup opportunity
Akhona Mnyaka is savouring the opportunity to display his talent for the Coca-Cola South Africa under-19s at this year’s U19 World Cup in New Zealand.
The 18-year old from Mdantsane in East London hopes that the tournament will open further doors at its conclusion in early February.
It seems already being the youngest player to be drafted the Global T20 League is not enough, Mnyaka has even higher aspirations.
“The goal for any sportsman is to reach the highest honours that are out there and for me, that’s to represent my country in the Proteas team,” he said.
“Everything else is great, it’s a push in the right direction, but I hope I can do a good enough job here to show selectors and everyone out there that I’m a good player and that I am good enough to earn a call up (to the Proteas) someday soon.”
The 12th edition of the World Cup begins tomorrow, but South Africa will make their first appearance against Kenya in Christchurch on Sunday.
Mnyaka believes that the tournament is a good platform for youngsters to put their hands up and be counted among the country’s best players.
“You can see just by how many guys who have gone from an U19 World Cup and made the Proteas team that this is a very big stage that we are going to be playing on,” he continued.
“Guys like Kagiso Rabada, Quinton de Kock and Wayne Parnell made their way into the national team pretty quickly after playing SA U19 in a World Cup.
“It just goes to show how big this occasion really is. Your life could change for the better in a matter of months if you keep playing hard.”
The young South Africans were found wanting in their warm-up match against India, suffering a 138-run defeat to them earlier this week.
Mnyaka does not believe that the team played to its potential that day, but is confident that they have addressed the issues.
“We didn’t play well against India but I think that if we stick to our basics and do what we do best, which is worrying about our own game and not think about the opposition, we will do well in this tournament.
“I’m not too worried about what happened in that warm-up game because it was exactly that, a warm-up. We know what we need to do and it’s now just a matter of executing the skills we all know that we have.”
Latest
-
NewsJonny Bairstow heading in the right direction in his recovery from injury
The 33-year-old Yorkshireman underwent successful surgery on a broken leg and dislocated ankle in September after a freak golf incident.
-
NewsJofra Archer enjoys new role as he bowls England to victory in South Africa
Archer did not open the bowling but produced career-best ODI figures.
-
NewsSir Andrew Strauss lauds ‘extraordinary leaders’ Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes
England’s men’s team have won nine of their 10 Test matches under the new regime.
-
NewsJofra Archer returns career-best ODI figures as England claim consolation win
England won the third and final match against South Africa but had already lost the series.
-
EnglandDawid Malan and Jos Buttler hit hundreds as England fight back in South Africa
Buttler’s men are bidding to avoid a series clean sweep and a sixth successive loss in the ODI format.
-
County CricketTom Curran taking break from red-ball cricket for ‘my body and my mental health’
The 27-year-old has endured injury problems in recent years.
-
The AshesOlly Stone hopes to play a role in an England pace trio during this year’s Ashes
Stone hopes to play a role this summer along with Jofra Archer and Mark Wood.
-
EnglandOlly Stone ready for whatever role is required to make England World Cup squad
‘Any way in the England team, I’ll snap someone’s hand off,’ said Stone.
-
Women's CricketDane van Niekerk ‘absolutely broken’ to miss World Cup over fitness standards
The South Africa captain was unable to complete a two-kilometre run in the minimum required time.
-
EnglandRun of defeats has not damaged England’s confidence, insists Moeen Ali
The all-rounder is confident England will be in good shape for the defence of their World Cup crown.