Jennings saddened by SA U-19 woes

Cape Town - Former coach Ray Jennings is saddened by the state of affairs at the SA Under-19 cricket team.

The SA Under-19s were bundled out of the Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh at the weekend after a shock loss to minnows Namibia.

The South Africans also lost their first game against the hosts.

Jennings was the SA Under-19 coach when they won the Under-19 World Cup two years ago, but he was replaced as coach by Lawrence Mahatlane in April 2014.

“The formula used by the selectors to pick the team and the one used to pick the coach has clearly not worked,” Jennings told Netwerk24.

“It seems as though the team is not properly prepared for the tournament and there’s definitely a lack of motivation. The same mistakes are repeated and plans aren’t properly implemented.

 “It’s very sad for me - after I gave everything for the Under-19 team for eight years - to see what’s now happened to the team. It’s also frustrating that I couldn’t add any value these last two years.”

Ironically, Jennings earlier this year worked with the Namibian Under-19 team at the High Performance Centre in Pretoria.

“I gave them advice on how they should approach a match like this one against South Africa. You could see that, apart from having a lot of heart, the guys didn’t have much to offer. Not in my wildest dreams could I have foreseen that South Africa would lose to Namibia.”

Since winning the World Cup under Jennings two years ago, the SA Under-19s have endured a torrid run, losing 18 of their official one-day matches.