READY TO ROR

NEW Western Province head coach Rory Kleinveldt is excited as he embarks on a nuwe chapter with the span ahead of the 2025-26 season.

Kleinveldt was appointed as head coach last month, marking his return to Newlands following a successful stint in England as bowling coach for Northamptonshire.

Kleinveldt wysed what it means to be back at Newlands: “Obviously flying in from the UK, seeing the mountains, always something special, you know. Coming to Newlands every day, what a place to work, you know.

“Absolutely love the place and really excited to be back and hopefully make a big difference in Western Province Cricket Association [WPCA].

“Look, I mean, the plan was always to come back at some point, probably a little bit sooner than expected, to be honest. But in saying that, I think I’m pretty much ready for this opportunity.

“I’ve obviously got strong connections with the players, just remedial fundamental work for the first couple of weeks and then we’ll get into nets and more game scenario situation type training, and the boys are looking good.”

The 42-year-old says he is hopeful the side will have a strong build-up to the start of the new season and hit the ground running.

He believes that all the hard work ultimately comes down to making mense proud, especially through the team’s style of play.

He added: “I think for me that’s a big thing. What’s our philosophy, what’s our way of doing things and we always look to be positive, and try and take the game forward as much as we can.

“So hopefully all the guys buy into that, and we can move forward and put teams under pressure in that way.

“I look at the squad and I see a talented group of players who probably, by their own admittance, underperformed a little bit last year. There are various factors behind that, I think, injuries and national team call-ups and all those kinds of things.”

The new season starts in October, with fixtures set to be announced next week.