Emerging Players squad to undergo training camp

Johan Botha will lead the South African side in Australia © Getty Images

The 14-man South African squad to play in the Emerging Players Tournament in Australia will undergo a pre-tour camp at the High Performance Centre in Pretoria from July 8 to 11, according to a release from Cricket South Africa.

The squad, which was announced in March, will be captained by offspinner Johan Botha. The players will participate in the 2007 Four-Nations Emerging Players Tournament to be held later this month. The tournament also includes hosts Australia, India, and New Zealand.

The two-week tournament in Brisbane will have the countries play in three Twenty20 matches and seven ODIs in a round-robin format. South Africa won the tournament last year, beating Australia by one wicket in the final.

The pre-tour camp will start with a net practice on July 8, following which the squad will play two ODIs against the National Academy on July 9th and 10th.

Kepler Wessels, the coach of the South African squad, said that the team have set three keys objectives for this tour. "We want to work on the individual players in order for them to make a claim for a selection spot in the Proteas squad.

"Secondly, we want to get a varied style of play in order for the players to compete in all conditions anywhere in the world and lastly to win as many games as possible on this tour."

The squad leaves for Australia on July 11. South Africa begin their tour with a Twenty20 game on July 16 against Australia's Commonwealth Bank Centre of Excellence.