The tourists won the two-match, four-day leg of the trip 1-0. They were convincing nine-wicket winners in the opening game before coming to within two wickets of clinching the second game as the hosts just about held on. Now they will be looking to carry that momentum into the second part of the tour and Maketa is looking forward to it.

“Winning the four-day series against a Zimbabwean A side has really been a rewarding experience for all of us,” he said. “I mean, the journey started four months ago when we met up in Pretoria working with the players, really trying to help them identify and come up with solid game plans and prepare them on how to execute their skills under pressure.

“To have come up here and really put that into practice is a great feeling. To have seen the journey the players have gone through and to finally cap it off by winning the way we did in such a commanding way has been very satisfying.”

The likes of Kyle Verrynne, Matthew Christensen, Senuran Muthusamy and Kyle Simmonds have all stood out on paper so far, but Maketa feels that every single one of his players has played their part. The coach is also expecting a vastly improved performance from the home side at the Harare Sports Club.

“Our good performance so far is certainly something we want to now take on into the one-day series,” he added. “Everybody has contributed so far, so in that sense we are all in a good space heading into what we expect to be a tougher series. I'm sure it’s going to be a much stronger Zim A, so we’ll have to be ready for them.”

 SA National Academy Men’s Squad: Karabo Mogotsi (Gauteng), Wihan Lubbe (North West), Yaseen Vallie (Gauteng), Tony de Zorzi (Northerns), Janneman Malan (North West), Senuran Muthusamy (KZN), Isaac Digale (North West), Michael Cohen (WP), Lwandiswa Zuma (KZN), Tladi Bokako (EP), Okuhle Cele (KZN), Migael Pretorius (Northerns), Ndumiso Mvelase (Gauteng), Kyle Simmonds (Boland), Thomas Kaber (Northerns), Kyle Verrynne (WP), Matthew Christensen (EP), Wiaan Mulder (Gauteng).

Management team: Malibongwe Maketa (Head Coach), Shane Burger (Assistant Coach), Nandile Tyali (Fitness Trainer), Michael Gwilliams (Physio), Hendrikus Coertzen (Video Analyst).