Duminy and Botha named in performance squad

The latest intake for South Africa's High Performance Programme (HPP) includes a number of players with international experience as the selectors continue to assess the depth of talent available. The 23-man squad will attend the high performance centre in May and June before an Emerging Players tournament in Australia during July.

JP Duminy, Johan Botha and Robin Peterson - who are in the current Test squad touring Bangladesh - will spend their off season with the HPP while ODI members Albie Morkel and Justin Ontong are also included. After the recent quota row that hit selection for the Bangladesh tour, coloured players are strongly represented.

A number of players have been rewarded for impressive domestic seasons including quick bowlers Dillon du Preez and Lonwabo Tsotsobe and batsman Henry Davids. Vaughn van Jaarsveld, who turned his back on a Kolpak deal with Warwickshire, makes his first step towards a possible international career.

Joubert Strydom, the convenor of selectors, said more players could be included on a short-term basis depending on their commitments with the national side.

"We are extremely happy that these are the players we have earmarked as the next wave of players that should take South African cricket forward," Strydom said. "Some of them have played for the country at the highest level already; hence, they have been identified to undergo the high performance training in order to ensure their wonderful talents are developed to the full.

"Unfortunately, the busy schedule of the South African squad has ruled out some of the younger players currently playing for the Proteas. However, ad hoc invitations could be extended to other individuals where the camp's content might warrant skill specific development."

Alongside the HPP there will also be a specialist spin camp, in Port Elizabeth, as Cricket South Africa tries to bolster one of the weakest areas of the game which will be led by the national spinners co-ordinator and selector, Shafiek Abrahams. At this camp wicketkeepers will also be invited as will a wider range of talented spinners outside the performance squad.

"The HPP is designed to help the South Africa aspirants to take the step to become significant Test, ODI and Pro20 players. The HPP works closely with the franchises as we are all part of CSA integrated pipeline working together to help these players reach their full potential," Vince Van der Bijl, the high performance general manager, said.

Gerald Majola, the CEO of CSA, said South Africa's recent successes show the value of the HPP: "A number of last year's graduates from the HPP have made the jump from domestic professional cricket most successfully into international cricket," he said. "The franchises are to be congratulated on helping to widen the pool from which the Proteas are selected by providing most capable replacements for established players who have retired or lost form.

"The HPP has also made it possible to develop more variety into the South African set-up, and this was graphically illustrated in the recent successes against Pakistan, New Zealand and West Indies. We face a challenging season, touring India, England and Australia. The HPP squad and the programme itself will be there to provide meaningful backup in our bid to be the very best".

Squad Ahmed Amla, Gulam Bodi, Loots Bosman, Johan Botha, Henry Davids, Dillon du Preez, JP Duminy, Dean Elgar, Matthew Harris, Imraan Khan, Rory Kleinveldt, Heino Kuhn, Ethy Mbhalati, Albie Morkel, Justin Ontong, Alviro Petersen, Robin Peterson, Vernon Philander, Andrew Puttick, Blake Snijman, Thandi Tshabalala, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Vaughn van Jaarsveld.