The SA U19 squad that will take part in the World Cup hosted by the West Indies in January and February has been announced.

The Junior Proteas will also take part in a pre-World Cup bilateral tour against the host nation in December, which will finalise their preparations for the global showpiece.

SA U19 will be led by captain George van Heerden, while exciting talents such as Dewald Brevis and Asakhe Tsaka will lead the charge with bat and ball, respectively.

Brevis impressed local cricket fans with an explosive knock likened to AB de Villiers in the recent domestic T20 Knock Out competition, while Tsaka maintained a notable economy rate of 6.42 with the ball.

“We have a lot of exciting players in our group, and I am certain they will be well led by George van Heerden,” said head coach Shukri Conrad.

“I want us to have the courage of our convictions. Have the courage to play the way we have practised, to follow the philosophy that we have set out and, hopefully, we can adapt, depending on what conditions are prevalent in the West Indies, both on the tour and the World Cup.

“The World Cup is the priority, but we also have a series in the West Indies that we’d like to win. It is also great preparation for the boys. I would like to see our boys continue the work; we still have a little bit of work to do before we get there and once there, to go out and have the courage to play the way we want to play.

“Ultimately, I believe if we do that enough, then we will be victorious. We are certainly not going there as a side who wants to just compete, or a side just thrilled to be there, we want to not only give a good account of ourselves but also get into the playoff stages and win tournaments.

“That’s a long way away, but if we follow the building blocks, we will be all right.”

SA U19 World Cup squad: George van Heerden (c, Warriors), Liam Alder (Lions), Matthew Boast (KZN Inland), Dewald Brevis (Titans), Michael Copeland (Boland), Ethan Cunningham (Western Province), Valentine Kitime (Titans), Kwena Maphaka (Lions), Gerhard Maree (Free State), Aphiwe Mnyanda (Warriors), Andile Simelane (KwaZulu-Natal Inland), Jade Smith (Warriors), Kaden Solomons (Western Province), Joshua Stephenson (Warriors), Asakhe Tshaka (Western Province).

Photo: Sydney Mahlangu/BackpagePix