The South African U19 team’s 'fans' in Bangladesh

If you've been following the ongoing Youth ODI series between Bangladesh U19 and South Africa U19, you might have noticed that there are a few South African supporters in the stadium.

That's because those are not only South African supporters, they are the parents and family members of some of the South African players who have travelled for the first time in their lives to the sub-continent. 

Much like the South African players, their parents are also experiencing the sub-continent for the first time in their lives. 

They arrived in Dhaka on air and then flew to the Jashore airport before taking a bus to Khulna where the first three ODIs took place at the Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium.

They spoke very candidly about a variety of topics from the future of South African cricket to quotas to how they feel visiting Bangladesh for the first time.

James Teeger's lucky spot
Team captain David Teeger's father, James is an extremely interesting character. 

When the SA team bats, he cuts a very pensive figure walking around the stadium. 

But when his son bats, he picks a particular seat in a room with no fan or air conditioning and sits there as he feels it's his lucky seat.

Luckily for him, David has been in good form with the bat for the Proteas and has been among their top run scorers. 

"We have all been struck by the warmth and politeness of the people of Bangladesh. There are few things one can control in life but one thing is your attitude. The attitude of the Bangladesh people to visitors has been special," James said. 

"The spirit amongst the parents is brilliant. We had not met each other before the tour, and I now consider them all as my friends," James added.

'We don't consider quotas as a thing at all now'

All-rounder Oliver Whitehead's father Andrew Whitehead was a former cricketer who played with legendary cricketer Jacques Kallis before and now has both his sons playing cricket.

When asked if he would be okay with his son playing for another country for more money or even focusing on franchise cricket over national duties, he had a simple answer: "The country must come first." 

"If you can become a top player for your country and make a big enough career in cricket, the money will always come," Andrew explained.

He also explained that among the cricketers and the cricket fraternity in South Africa, quotas aren't made a big deal at the moment.

Not amongst the current batch of U19 players either: "See, only the haters say things like quotas and try to use it as an excuse if the team doesn't do well. Nowadays, players are picked on merit. More and more black players are coming up too so quotas really aren't a thing here at all now," Andrew concluded.

For the love of their children
The parents of opening batter Jonathan van Zyl, Warren, and Tracy made it clear that their son needs to be supported as much as possible, and as parents, it's their obligation to help their son follow his dreams. 

"I think it's a very South African thing that you're seeing here. South African parents want to be with their kids and support them," Tracy said.

Warren, who runs the Warren van Zyl Cricket Academy in South Africa echoed that sentiment.

The parents of all-rounder Romashan Pillay, Soma, and Pregashini are from KwaZulu Natal although they have Indian ancestry.

Soma jokes that he tries to wear the South African team jersey as much as possible to let people know he's not from here and doesn't understand Bengali.

"My parents can speak Tamil but we don't understand Bengali or Hindi either. It's English and Afrikaans to communicate for us," Soma explains. 

Both of them work in medicine and they're very happy that their son has chosen a different career path. 

"I think it's less pressure on Romashan to follow his dreams as we come from a different career background," Pregashini quips. 

Father of opening batter Lhuan-dre Pretorious, Abe talks about the heat and humidity in Bangladesh being something he or the players have never experienced before but he feels that the players will tough it out. 

"Some of the boys are very tough, especially those that come from Durban will have experienced heat and humidity as it gets quite close to the weather that's here in Bangladesh."

While Pretorious has been among the runs for the SA U19 team and also picked up the Player of the Match award in the 3rd ODI, fast bowler Tristan Luus was equally important by picking up four wickets.

"Yes, the parents of only the batters came with them. Not us bowlers," Luus joked.

With the Youth ODI series tied at 2-2, the final game of the five-match series will be played on Sunday in Rajshahi's Shahid Kamruzzaman Stadium and one can rest assured that the parents of these players will be present.