T Chesterfield: Northerns Work On Long Term Strategies (Mar 1996)

Northerns Work On Long Time Strategies

Trevor Chesterfield

Next summer is still some seven months down the rocky pathway that has a habit of upsetting even the best laid plans, but Northern Transvaal have not lost sight of long-term strategies that are tied up with the five-year plan.

To this end Anton Ferreira and Keith Medlycott will be using the Glamorgan tour of Northerns, starting after Easter, as part of next season`s campaign. Whether Fanie de Villiers will be called to play in one of the series of five matches that include four limited-overs games and a three-day outing is up to "Finnige Fanie"

There is also a chance that an extra match or two might be arranged to accommodate Leicestershire in a triangular limitedovers series at Centurion Park. At this stage, says Ferreira, as he watched the team training session at Northern`s headquaters, the plan is to use all members ot the A and B squad who are available

Missing will be schoolboy Pierre Joubert (touring India with the South African under-19 side), Dan van Zyl (commitments elsewhere), Clayton Lambert (already overseas) and possibly Kevin Rule (business commitments). But the rest of the squad are keen to help work on some "forward planning". Glamorgan, who are using the tour as part ot their pre-county season programme, have had ties with Northern Transvaal that date back to the early 1960`s when Jim Pressdee led the province.

PRACTICE

They arrive on March 26 and will practice at Centurion Park on March 27 and 28 before heading to Pietersburg for a day/night game against Nirtherns XI on March 31 followed by an all-day game on April 1.

The three-day match follows from April 3 to 5 with a final match or two on April 6. "At this stage the dates are provisional and we`ll know more, shortly before their arrival," Ferreira said. "But the games should sort out some of our long-term thinking."