The contracted squad for Western Province men’s cricket for the 2023/24 season was announced on Wednesday.
The full squad is as follows: Wayne Parnell, Kyle Verreynne, Beuran Hendricks, Tony de Zorzi, Jono Bird, Eddie Moore, Daniel Smith, George Linde, Kyle Simmonds, Yaseen Vallie, Mihlali Mpongwana, Dane Paterson, Nandre Burger, Onke Nyaku, Valentine Kitime, Mthiwekhaya Nabe, Juan James and David Bedingham.
Western Province welcomes back Bedingham and Nabe, who both previously played for the province. New recruits James and Kitime are exciting young talents who played for North West and Paarl Rocks respectively in the 2022/23 season. The quintet of new caps is concluded by the experienced Nyaku, who joins from SWD.
The association also said a fond farewell to a number of players, including Western Province natives Zubayr Hamza, Junaid Dawood and Ethan Cunningham. Long-time servant of WP cricket Aviwe Mgijima is also leaving, as well as fast bowler Tshepo Moreki. WP Cricket thanked these five players for the contributions they have made to the province and wished them well for their future endeavours.
Coach Salieg Nackerdien, his coaching team and the new squad will be looking to continue to build on the 2022/23 campaign. WP had an encouraging season in the CSA One-Day Cup, where they finished as runners-up, as well as in the CSA 4-Day competition, where they topped the log for a long period.
Looking forward to the season ahead, Nackerdien said: “The 2023/24 squad is a good combination of youth and experience. It is encouraging that we have retained the majority of the squad that served us so well in the last season. I wish Zuby, Tshepo, Avi, Junaid and Ethan all the best in the future.
"I am looking forward to working with David and Mthiwekhaya again. Onke will bring further experience to the squad, and Juan and Valentine are exciting young cricketers. There will be a lot of hard work done in the off-season to make sure we hit the ground running in 2023/24.”
WPCA CEO Michael Canterbury gave his thoughts about the future: “Coach Salieg has been able to assemble a well-balanced squad. At WP we are always sad to lose players, but I want to thank those who are moving on for the contribution to the association and wish them well. At the same time, we are excited to welcome our new players and are confident that they will be able to make significant contributions in the upcoming season.”
WPCA President Ashraf Burns is positive about the 2023/24 campaign: “Despite the loss of our senior players Zubayr, Tshepo & Aviwe we were still able to contract a balanced squad that should be competitive in all formats. We wish them well in pursuit of their cricketing careers. This will also be an opportune time for Jono Bird, Daniel Smith and Mihlali Mpongwana to launch their careers. Welcome back Bedingham, Nabe & James (WP and SA Schools captain) and welcome to newcomers Nyaku and Kitime. Good luck with the pre-season training and a successful 2023/4 season."