Brevis, Stubbs among SA youth to bring their A game in Sri Lanka

Tony de Zorzi set himself a challenge as he left the country, bound for Sri Lanka, last Wednesday. South Africa A's captain wondered if he could blag his way into an international airport lounge - by speaking French, which he doesn't speak.

Having strung together enough of the more commonly known bits of the language - "Bonjour, oui, savior..." - and augmented his effort with what the non-French might interpret as French intonations and gestures, De Zorzi successfully talked his way past the staff at the desk. We know this because he shot a video of the episode, captioned "Mission accomplished", on his phone.

De Zorzi turns 26 in August, so he is on the older side of young in cricketer terms. And, for some, beyond such juvenile behaviour. But the grinches can't argue with the 2-1 win his team earned over their Lankan counterparts in the list A series Pallekele. Neither will there be complaints that much of the winning was done by the younger players in the squad. Should more such success follow in the two four-day matches in Dambulla, the first of which starts on Monday, De Zorzi's shares as a captain - even, as has been mooted, a future Test captain - will only rise further.

Dewald Brevis, perhaps the most famous 20-year-old in the game, took guard in the first list A match on Sunday with the visitors having slumped to 104/5 in the 20th over in search of a target of 265. Brevis hit an unbeaten 98 off 71 and shared a stand of 113 off 67 with Beyers Swanepoel, a 25-year-old allrounder who scored 43 off 28, to take South Africa A home with 8.5 overs remaining.

The Lankans struck back two days later, when Dilshan Madushanka dismissed a top four that included Zubayr Hamza and Kyle Verreynne as the visitors crashed to 175 all out. And that despite Tristan Stubbs and Gerald Coetzee - both aged 22 - putting on 111 off 138 in a partnership that started after their team had dwindled to 42/7 in 16 overs. Stubbs made 59 and Coetzee 77. Sri Lanka A slipped to 74/3 in the 13th over of their reply, but Nishan Madushka's 85-ball 107 not out and Sahan Arachchige's unbeaten 50, and their stand of 104 off 101, ensured a smooth passage to victory with 21 overs to spare.

Coetzee starred again in the decider two days after that, taking 5/48 to send the Lankans packing for 172. The home side lost four wickets inside five overs before they reached double figures, and only a stand of 74 between Ashen Bandara and Arachchige spared them from ignominy. With Madushanka removing the top order by the ninth over with only 48 runs on the board, the South Africans laboured to 101/5 before Stubbs and Senuran Muthusamy added 74 to clinch the series.

Youth was also to the fore among the Lankans. Madushanka is 22, Madushka 23, Arachchige 27 and Bandara 24. Whether any of them can speak French - or are able to successfully fake the ability to speak French - could not be established. Calm down, grinches: that's a joke.