Domingo excited by fresh start

South African national cricket team coach Russell Domingo says the Proteas have to embrace change and start focusing on reclaiming their place as a top side in all forms of the game.

Domingo took over the post in June last year, replacing legendary South African batsman Gary Kirsten and will now be working with a new captain in the newly-appointed Hashim Amla.

The Proteas will begin life without experienced batsmen Jacques Kallis and Graeme Smith, who have both retired from Test cricket, but Domingo believes it’s a great opportunity for new players to make a name for themselves.

“Those (Kirsten, Kallis and Smith) are three great servants to South African cricket and they are going to be hard to replace. But the game goes on,” Domingo told ESPNcricinfo.

“We’ve now got to start trying to find some new icon players and some new heroes and we’ve got some of those in the group already.”

Two new players have been roped into the squad for the tour to Sri Lanka in batsman Stiaan van Zyl and off-spinner Dane Piedt, while Dean Elgar and Quinton de Kock are also still in the early stages of their international careers.

“There are some fresh young players so it’s an exciting time for our team,” Domingo added.

“It’s not going to be love and fresh air all the time. There are going to be some tough tours and some tough sessions for us but we’ve got the nucleus of a good side at the moment.

“As a coach, it’s always exciting to have a new direction to go in and you can leave your print on the team a bit easier with some new players coming in.”