Mosehle becomes 10th national team player to come through the Toyana production line

10 January 2017 - 13:27 By Mahlatse Mphahlele
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The inclusion of wicketkeeper/batsman Mangaliso Mosehle in the Proteas squad for the T20 matches against Sri Lanka has increased the number of Lions players coach Geoffrey Toyana has produced for the national team to ten in less than five years.

Before Mosehle was called up on Monday‚ Toyana oversaw the progression of Quinton de Kock‚ Kagiso Rabada‚ Aaron Phangiso‚ Chris Morris‚ Temba Bavuma‚ Hardus Viljoen‚ Stephen Cook‚ Dwaine Pretorious and Eddie Leie to the Proteas.

Even more impressive is that Toyana has produced four African black players in the form of Phangiso‚ Bavuma‚ Leie and Mosehle to help Cricket South Africa’s (CSA) aggressive transformation drive.

Rabada and De Kock have established themselves among the best young players in the world in all formats.

Cook and Bavuma are cementing their spots in the Test side while Phangiso is a key member of the limited overs sides.

On the back of these impressive numbers‚ Toyana said he has another gem in the form of young all-rounder Wiaan Mulder.

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The 18-year-old Mulder is quietly making an impression on franchise level with eye-catching performances.

“I believe that he will play for the Proteas in the future because he has all the attributes‚" Toyana said.

"He reminds me a little bit of Kagiso Rabada because‚ despite his natural and undoubted talent‚ he asks the right cricket questions and he is willing to learn.

"He is a batting all-rounder and the most important thing for us at the moment is to ensure that we manage him properly and help him to fulfill his potential.

"The other good example for us is Stephen Cook‚ who embodies the qualities of never giving up.

"He kept on working hard at franchise level and he was ready when the opportunity to represent his country finally arrived.”

Toyana said they have managed to produce capable Proteas because they usually go for young and hungry players who are desperate for opportunities to prove themselves.

“There is no secret really‚ we bring in players from other franchises or our development structures who are hungry.

"We still have players like Bjorn Fortuin and Nicky van den Berg who are coming through and we expect a lot of things from them.”

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Producing players for the Proteas is good for the national team but Toyana said it sometimes affect their depth when those players are not available.

“It is good to produce players for the national team but sometimes we are thin when they are with the national team‚ but that’s how things go.

"This pushes us to continue identifying talent like Mulder‚ Fortuin and Van den Berg to fill those gaps.

"When Chris Morris left for the Titans‚ it was a blessing in disguise because his departure opened the door for Dwaine Pretorius to prove himself and he has done very well.”

During the T20 Challenge‚ Toyana entrusted Phangiso with the captaincy and he was impressed with his performances.

“Phangiso is one of the most experienced players in our set-up and I was happy with the way he led during the competition.

"Players respected and followed his leadership during the competition and we made it to the semi-final.”

- TMG Digital

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