NACKERDIEN SEE PROGRESS IN JAG WESTERN PROVINCE 

He may be in charge of what is known as the JAG Western Province amateur team but Salieg Nackerdien takes a highly professional approach to his job as the side's coach.

His office at Sahara Park Newlands is neatly organised with files and folders. Each player in the squad has a file which is updated after every practice.

"I believe that players must be goal orientated," said the former Boland and Impalas left-hand batsman. "When they practise they should be thinking about what they want to achieve."

JAG Western Province have made a promising start in the three-day Cricket South Africa Provincial Competition with two wins and two draws, one of which was a rain-affected fixture against KwaZulu-Natal Inland in Pietermaritzburg.

In the one-day competition, two wins have been balanced with two defeats, one by a single run against South Western Districts and another against North West where Nackerdien believes his team squandered a winning position.

"There are quite a few positives. We are coming along nicely in the three-day competition in particular, but there is also plenty of room for improvement," said Nackerdien.

A tough challenge awaits the side in Kimberley this weekend, where JAG Western Province will be up against defending three-day champions Griqualand West.

Altogether it is a demanding season, with the amateur competition expanded to a 13-match programme, compared to the six fixtures in recent seasons, which were followed by a four-day final and one-day semi-finals and final.

The busy programme has already reaped one casualty, with all-rounder Esmund van Wyk unavailable for the second half of the season because he is returning to full-time employment as a teacher.

Van Wyk's loss has been compensated for by the return of talented batsman Dominic Telo after a stint in English country cricket.

Among the players who have shone this season are opening batsman Alistair Gray and Yaseen Vallie, who along with all-rounder Vernon Philander have hit centuries in the first-class competition, and leg- spinner Abdul-Aziz Temoor, who is among the competition's leading wicket-takers with 17 at an average of 25.47. Philander's two matches in the amateur side brought him 14 wickets at just 7.48 runs apiece.

The provincial side will be without a core of experienced players against Griquas, with Gray, Philander and Ryan Canning all promoted to the Cape Cobras side. It is a chance, says Nackerdien, for some of the less experienced players to take a step up.

Nackerdien sees his new job as an exciting challenge. It is a natural progression for a man who says: "I've got cricket in my blood."

He was born in Paarl 46 years ago into a cricketing family, the most prominent member being his uncle Sharky Nackerdien who captained the
Sacboc national team during the apartheid era. His mother also has sporting genes as part of the Ontong family and Justin Ontong, the Nashua Cape Cobras and Proteas batsman, is a cousin.

Salieg's ability was soon noticed when he attended Paulus Joubert high school in Paarl and he was selected for South African Schools at the
end of the Nuffield Week in Kimberley in 1983, opening the batting and top-scoring for the schoolboys with 45 against the Griqualand West senior team.

His first-class debut for Boland came at the age of 19 in the same season and he went on to play 52 first-class matches in a career which lasted until 1995/96. The highest of his three centuries was 122 against Transvaal B in 1985/86.

His coaching career started with the Boland Academy and he went on to coach Boland B, the Boland senior amateur team and has been assistant coach to Peter Kirsten and Shukri Conrad at the Nashua Cape Cobras. He was coach of the Boland team which won the SAA one-day title last season.

Among those who have influenced his cricket career are Stephen Jones and Philip Newport, who were senior teammates when he came into the
Boland team as a young player, while former Test player Omar Henry and Cricket SA coaching manager Anton Ferreira have helped advance his coaching career. He holds a Level Four coaching certificate and believes no coach can afford to stop learning.

The ability to manage people is a key aspect of the job and Nackerdien says he has an "open door policy" with the players. "I am a firm believer in respect and tell the players they must respect themselves and other people."

Nackerdien says he would like to see the side winning trophies but stresses that the priority is to develop players. "The main focus is on getting guys to the next level, although I would also like to develop a winning culture."