CAPTAIN OF THE COCA-COLA SA UNDER 19 CRICKETER, DIEGO ROSIER, ENJOYS THE LEADERSHIP ROLE

Diego Rosier, captain of the Coca-Cola under 19 cricket team, currently doing battle against their England counterparts, sees being chosen to lead his country as a great honour.

“It is an honour to have been made captain and I am really enjoying managing the players,” he said. “I get on really well with all of them and there is great spirit in the team. England has proven to be very tough opponents and some of our players have been struggling against them, which makes them moody and it is my job to help them get through this.”

Rosier, who has been playing cricket for as long as he can remember, finished school at Northern Cape High School in Kimberley at the end of last year and is currently studying for a BCom Management through Unisa.

Rosier represented Griquas at three Coca-Cola Khaya Majola Weeks and says the best of those was in 2011 when he first made the South African Schools teams and was named all-rounder and player of the tournament.

For Diego, Test cricket is the format he loves. “It is the most difficult as you have to be on your guard all the time,” he says. “It is a challenge and only for strong-minded players as you have to adapt and be patient.” He was disappointed with the result of the first Coca-Cola Youth Test, which England won quite comfortably. “I think the batsmen let us down, but the bowling department was very good,” he said.

“We were outplayed by England in the first Test. They are a younger side than us and most of their players will be around for next year’s ICC Junior World Cup in Dubai. Our team, on the other hand, has only 6 players who will be eligible to play there.”

Diego believes the problem with the batting is that they don’t understand what is required in a four day game. “I am a bit disappointed that we lost wickets early in both our innings. We spoke at length in our meetings about being focused and not having to hit out as this is a 4 day game, but we seem to be repeating our mistakes.”

He explains that at schools in South Africa don’t play the longer version of the game, and at under 19 level cricketers generally play one three day game a year. “Adapting to a three or four day game is challenging,” he said. “When you have been playing for two days and realise that there are still another two days to play, you have to shift focus.  We play like we are in a hurry.”

Rosier does believe the upcoming ODIs will be a completely different proposition. “We will have a very different squad and I am looking forward to that. I believe we will give England a challenge there.”