The search for South Africa’s next
great fast bowler continued when the Audi Q5 Fast Track visited Pietersburg
High School. The initiative, which is
led by Audi, Cricket South Africa (CSA) and former Proteas quick and
development guru, Mfuneko Ngam, is the first designed to utilise
state-of-the-art technology to unearth the hidden gems of South African fast
blowing. It is currently taking place
around the country and today identified a number of talented local young
bowlers who will now be given the chance to prove themselves in front of CSA’s
development structures.
Lead talent scout Mfuneko Ngam,
commented, “The Audi Q5 Fast Track has so far been a resounding success and Polokwane
was no different. I have been very
impressed by the level of talent we have uncovered so far. We are very excited at the prospect of one of
these young bowlers following in the footsteps of the great Proteas bowlers who
came before them.”
On the day, local bowlers between the
ages of 15 and 18 were given the opportunity to showcase their talent in front
of a powerful development team. Bowlers
were given the chance to illustrate their skills in the nets with the most
promising selected to have their bowling measured on the Audi Bowling Lab - a
set-up which utilises state-of-the-art PitchVision technology to instantly
analyse a bowler’s performance by comparing pace, line,
length, deviation and bounce to that of a current Proteas bowler.
Ngam and his team, which
included CSA representatives and local coaches, utilised the scoring system of
the Audi Bowling Lab to select the talented boys and girls who will now be put
in front of CSA development structures.
The standout bowlers on the day were Abigail Mantjane, 17 from Mokopane
who impressed all in attendance with her consistent line and length and Gerhardus
Fourie from Louis Trichardt who, at 15, is consistently hitting the 130km/h
mark with his bowling.
Trevor Hill, Head of Audi
South Africa, concluded, “Today continued our search for standout fast bowlers
and Limpopo Province did not disappoint.
As Progressive Partner to the Proteas, Audi is proud to be able to take
our partnership with CSA to the next level by driving progress in a development
space. The prospect of potentially
uncovering the next Ntini or Ngam, together with CSA, is something we are not
only excited by but which we are striving towards.”
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