Vincent Barnes to coach SA 'A', SA Under 19 and Academy
UCB CEO Gerald Majola is proud to announce the appointment of Vincent Barnes as the coach for the SA 'A' and SA Under 19 teams, as well as of the Plascon Academy
Bronwyn Wilkinson
16-Jul-2002
UCB CEO Gerald Majola is proud to announce the appointment of Vincent Barnes
as the coach for the SA 'A' and SA Under 19 teams, as well as of the Plascon
Academy.
"The General Council of the UCB decided to elevate this position to ensure
that the person who holds it will work very closely with the coaches in the
national squad," said Majola today. "It will be Vincent's responsibility to
ensure that players are constantly coming through the ranks and ready to
take up places in the national squad. The UCB has embarked on a drive to
keep the SA A team highly active and for this team to be a solid stepping
stone into the national squad with as narrow a gap as possible between the
two sides. Hylton Ackerman, who currently coaches the national Academy, and
whose contract expires at the end of August, has made himself available to
assist with our young players and I am happy to keep his expertise in South
African cricket," Majola added.
Barnes (42) has coached in the Western Province system since 1995 when he
started as a youth coach at the province. He has been coaching the
provincial 'A' side with Eric Simons since the 1999/00 season. As a
right-arm fast-medium bowler and right-hand batsman, Barnes represented the
Western Province Cricket Board between 1977 and unity in 1991 and then
played for the unified Western Province Cricket Association until his
retirement in 1994.
"As far as the SA A side goes, I have spoken to (national coach) Eric Simons
and will continue to work closely with him in building a strategy and level
of cricket to make sure the players are ready at all times to make the step
up to international cricket," Barnes said today. "The SA A team for me is
about making sure the players are ready to take the opportunities that may
come their way. At the Plascon Academy and in the Under 19 set-up, you have
the chance as a coach to work with the best young players in the country. I
have worked in both the national Academy (in 1998) and in the Under 19 team,
so I have some ideas, but I will sit down with the UCB's Director of
Coaching, Anton Ferreira to discuss strategies."
Barnes added: "I understand the magnitude of the job I have been appointed
to do - it is quite a step up from provincial coaching. But it's a challenge
I am ready for and I am really looking forward to it."
Barnes' appointment is effective from 1 September 2002.