Tuesday, February 5, 2013

COCA-COLA SA UNDER 19 CRICKETER, KAGISO RABADA, SHINES IN SECOND TEST AGAINST ENGLAND




Kagiso Rabada’s excellent performance during the recent Coca-Cola Khaya Majola Cricket Week earned him a place in the Coca-Cola under 19 national team. He is now frustrating the visiting England under-19 team with both his batting and his bowling.

Rabada is a grade 12 pupil at Johannesburg’s St Stithians College and, apart from his cricketing prowess, he is doing very well in the classroom and has aspirations to become a lawyer one day.

He earned his place in the national side thanks to his blistering bowling, but he is now proving that he is no slouch with the bat either. He shared a 79-run 10th wicket partnership with Jan Frylink in the second Test to help his team get to 228 in their first innings.  He managed an impressive 46, then took 1/34 in 16 overs as England were restricted to 231 in their first innings, leaving the game evenly poised going into the third day.

Recently Rabada featured in one of the Powerade Performance Sessions head-to-head matchups with Proteas all-rounder Ryan McLaren and came out of it having learnt a tremendous amount. “It taught me how to prepare for a cricket match, and I put this into practice before joining the Coca-Cola under-19 team.  This is particularly relevant for the Tests as I need to peak at the right time to be able to play consistently well over 4 days,” he said. “But more than that, Ryan gave me a few tips on bowling which I believe have made me a better bowler.”

Rabada did not play in the first Youth Test against England but was brought in after Craig Kirsten got injured. “It was very unfortunate for Craig, but I have been given an opportunity now and I hope to make the best of it, contributing to the success of the team,” he said.

As far as his batting heroics on the first day of the Test are concerned, Kagiso says that it showed that in cricket you should never get too confident. “The funny thing about cricket is, you feel you are in control and all of a sudden things change and you find out you are not. This happened to England. They thought they were in control when they had us on 68/6 at lunchtime, and would bowl us out easily, but we frustrated them,” he said. “Jan and I talked to each other after each over and encouraged each other not to take chances but also to hit out when there were bad balls.”
 
Below is a clip of the Powerade Performance Session where Kagiso took on Ryan McLaren in a couple of training disciplines.

 

About The Coca-Cola Company

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is the world's largest beverage company, refreshing consumers with more than 500 sparkling and still brands. Led by Coca-Cola, the world's most valuable brand, our Company's portfolio features 15 billion dollar brands including Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Coca-Cola Zero, vitaminwater, Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply, Georgia and Del Valle. Globally, we are the No. 1 provider of sparkling beverages, ready-to-drink coffees, and juices and juice drinks. Through the world's largest beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy our beverages at a rate of 1.8 billion servings a day. With an enduring commitment to building sustainable communities, our Company is focused on initiatives that reduce our environmental footprint, support active, healthy living, create a safe, inclusive work environment for our associates, and enhance the economic development of the communities where we operate. Together with our bottling partners, we rank among the world's top 10 private employers with more than 700,000 system employees. For more information, please www.thecoca-colacompany.com or follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/CocaColaCo.




 

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