Aspiring professionals from Zimbabwe, Netherlands and England will link up with locally based players for a unique experience to be staged in Cape Town.

Now in its third year the HPA boasts a stringent schedule and will see players train for six hours a day and play club cricket at Premier League level on weekends.

It has been specifically designed by Gary Kirsten himself along with a group of dedicated coaches to assist cricketers to achieve their dream of playing first class cricket.

“It is a programme which is growing from strength to strength and this year we are delighted to welcome a great bunch of players,” GKC Coaching Director, Ryan Van Niekerk said.

The HPA is multifaceted in its approach and will give players a chance to develop steadily through the weeks.

“Players will get every chance to enhance and improve their skills as well as share their experiences with fellow cricketers both through intense practices and competitive matches,” Van Niekerk said.

The first week will see the athletes put through a number of tests to ascertain their current physical and mental states.

“Each player’s physical condition will be assessed, followed up by an individualised training programme. They will also have regular interventions with a qualified mental conditioning practitioner.”

“A personal development plan which includes best practice in leadership across sporting codes is also a hallmark of the programme.”

Developing life skills is a major part of the HPA and players will get the opportunity to experience the Mother City in all its splendor.

“In addition to excursions around the city, we will also get the players involved in the GKC Foundation Township coaching programmes,” Van Niekerk said.

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The duo who are proud products of Gary Kirsten Cricket made their debuts for the South Africa Under-19 team this month during a Youth ODI series against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.

It was just reward after they both excelled for Western Province Under-19 at last December’s Kaya Majola Coke Week.

Cohen took his first international wicket against neighbors Zimbabwe and finished with figures of 1-37 in Paarl.

“Michael has grown from strength to strength and is a real talent,” said GKC Coaching Director, Ryan Van Niekerk who has mentored him over the past two years.

“He understands he has lots to work on, but for now the reward of a fantastic summer has been the selection into the South African Under-19 team. I will continue to work with Mike and help him where possible. He is a keen learner and understands the road is long but there are a lot of exciting things happening,” Van Niekerk added.

Christensen meanwhile showed exactly why he one of the country’s brightest young talents.

He scored a magnificent 101 against Sri Lanka in Cape Town.

“It’s great to see all his hard work pay off. He is a big talent to look out for and we are very proud of him,” Ryan Cook said.

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The tournament consists of 8 teams which includes South Africa’s six franchise sides as well as Zimbabwe U19 and the CSA U17 Invitational Team.

Johannesburg based players such as Josh Richards, Jacob Miltz, Mitchell Van Buuren had good performances at the week as well as Cobras representatives Gavin Kaplan, Ricky Vasconcelos, Jesse Christensen, Will Sendin and Daniel Moriarty.

“We have worked with all these players over the past few years and it is always great to track the progress,” Ryan Cook who was involved as coach of the CSA U17 outfit.

“The standard of cricket at the tournament was of a high quality and this makes the pipeline for South African cricket stronger. Watching players progress through a system from year to year is exciting especially those who you have worked alongside for many years,” he added.

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