Warriors coach Malibongwe Maketa went to the same school and played in the same provincial team as Makhaya Ntini, but has never really had the chance to go up against him until now. Maketa has been handed the South Africa A coaching duties and will take the team to Zimbabwe, where Ntini is currently the national teams head coach. Maketa admitted he is looking forward to the challenge of facing a former team-mate and another countryman Lance Klusener, who is also working with South Africas neighbours.Theyll have a little bit of a know-how of what we are going to bring in terms of intensity with them being South African. And theyll know the aggression we are going to bring and can prepare accordingly, Maketa said. They could most probably play their Test team so it will give a lot of our guys a lot of confidence to do well.Zimbabwe, who have yet to confirm a head coach after elevating Ntini to the interim role for their India series last month, will use the two matches as preparation for their upcoming Tests against New Zealand. They have not played Test cricket in 19 months, since a tour to Bangladesh in November 2014, and are likely to give their best players and their new permanent coach a dry run before taking on New Zealand.That means South Africa A can expect tough competition as their own side prepares for an 11-Test summer which is certain to test their depth. To ensure they have a large pool of players to choose from, South Africas selectors have sent current Test players and hopefuls on the A trip. Among them are opening batsman Stephen Cook, who will captain the side, recovered quick Vernon Philander, who missed most of last season after tearing ligaments in India, offspinner Dane Piedt, fast bowler Hardus Viljoen who debuted against England last season, and Test discards Stiaan van Zyl and Dane Vilas. Maketa expects all of them to use these matches as auditions for the 2016-17 season.Weve got guys on different journeys: guys who are preparing for Test matches and guys who are trying to get into Test teams, everybody thats here should believe they are the next best to play for their country, he said. Its a great opportunity for them to get the first showing in terms of our summer to say to the selectors we are here and ready to play Test cricket.At the same time, the tour could also be seen as a place for Maketa to show what he is capable of. Although he has only spent one full season in charge of a franchise, and did not win any trophies in his debut summer, Maketa has served as an assistant coach over several more years, with both Warriors and Titans, where he enjoyed success alongside Rob Walter. With pressure mounting on current coach Russell Domingo, its not too far a leap to conclude that Maketa may be being groomed for higher honours in the future.If he is, it is something he would welcome. I would be lying if I said I was not interested in coaching the national team. In whatever career you are at, you want to be the best at it. To coach a national team would be a benchmark for any coach who is out there. I am no different, he said. At the moment its great for me as a coach of a team like this, with guys who seriously want to go somewhere. When youve got cricketers who want to go somewhere, you will always be chasing something special.Maketa will also be in charge of the team when they travel to Australia for two more first-class matches and a quadrangular 50-over tournament and wants to be measured on his results. Its not easy to stamp my own style on the team in such a short time but what I want is having the common goal of performance, he said. We measure everybody on performance. In that way, its much easier for me to measure myself and to measure the team on the journey we are taking.It will not go amiss in South Africa that Ntini can be measured the same way. The countrys third highest Test wicket-taker has never coached at home and, a few weeks ago, lamented the lack of opportunities in an interview with the Sunday Times . Ntini has only enjoyed small success with Zimbabwe. They won one T20 against India in an otherwise dismal series but if he can build on that, South African administrators may come calling for him too. Cheap Vans From China . Numbers Game looks into the Canadiens securing the services of Thomas Vanek in a trade with the New York Islanders. The Canadiens Get: LW Thomas Vanek and a conditional fifth-round pick. Cheap Vans Shoes . The Celtics closed out their first preseason under Stevens on Wednesday night with a 101-97 victory over the Brooklyn Nets, who rested a lot of their lineup including former Celtics Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. http://www.cheapvanstrainers.com/ . Their experience showed Tuesday as the No. 10 Badgers blunted a Saint Louis surge to win 63-57 and advance to face West Virginia in Wednesdays finals of the Cancun Challenge. Cheap Vans Free Shipping . Tests earlier this week revealed a Grade 2 left hamstring strain for Sabathia, who was hurt in last Fridays start against San Francisco. Its an injury that will require about eight weeks to heal. He finished a disappointing campaign just 14-13 with a career-worst 4. Wholesale Vans Trainers Shoes ., and Rudi Swiegers of Kipling, Sask., took sixth spot on Saturday in pairs at the NHK Trophy ISU Grand Prix figure skating competition.Argentina captain Lionel Messi concedes he is disappointed he will not represent his country at the Olympic Games in Rio. The Barcelona talisman was left out of his nations Olympic squad in order to take part in the Copa America Centenario, which begins on June 3 and will be held in the United States. Lionel Messi brings up 500 goals for Barcelona and Argentina Lionel Messi scored his 500th career goal when he netted in Barcelonas 2-1 defeat by Valencia Argentina coach Gerardo Martino stressed that Messi, who won gold at the Beijing Games in 2008, agreed with the decision as Argentina aim to make up for last years disappointing Copa America final loss to Chile. Having savoured the 2008 Olympics and the U20s World Cup in the Netherlands in 2005, Messi is frustrated to miss the event in Brazil. Watch how Lionel Messi helped Barcelona beat Real Betis on Saturday I would have liked to go because it was a spectacular experience for me to play in the Olympics, just as it was for the U20 World Cup, Messi told ESPN.dddddddddddd Ten of the best from Lionel Messi Not just because we won, but for the experience I gained.It was a great experience to stay in the Olympic Village and meet other elite athletes from other sports and to be just another athlete among them; that was very spectacular even though we didnt spend a lot of time in the village.The World Cup is great but the Olympics are something special. 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