PORT ELIZABETH: Selection is likely to be South Africa’s
biggest challenge ahead of their one-off day-night Test against
Zimbabwe, starting here at St George’s Park on Tuesday.
Zimbabwe
are unlikely to stretch the home side but South Africa, ranked second
in Test cricket, will want to establish their best XI in this four-day
Test ahead of a three-match series against India, starting in Cape Town
on Jan 5.
With the return of A.B. de Villiers and Dale
Steyn after long absences from Test cricket, and with all South Africa’s
front-line fast bowlers fit for the first time in more than a year,
coach Ottis Gibson described the selection issue as “a good nightmare”.
“India
are the number one team in the world at the moment and we know we need
to be at our best if we are going to compete with them and beat them,
which is our ultimate goal,” said Gibson.
Six or seven
batsmen? Three or four fast bowlers? A spin bowler? An all-rounder?
These are all questions that will be troubling Gibson and his fellow
selectors.
The situation is complicated by South Africa’s
unique racial balancing act, with Cricket South Africa committed to
having an average of six players of colour, including two black
Africans, in their starting teams.
Three black Africans —
batsman Temba Bavuma, all-rounder Andile Phehlukwayo and fast bowler
Kagiso Rabada — played in South Africa’s most recent Test matches, two
one-sided encounters against Bangladesh.
But with batsman
De Villiers and fast bowlers Steyn, Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel
back in the mix, only Rabada of the three seems guaranteed to start in
what should be another lop-sided contest.
Zimbabwe had a
disappointing warm-up when they were beaten by a largely unheralded
Invitation team in Paarl, but they were able to gain some experience
with a pink ball under floodlights.
It is the first
day-night Test to be played in South Africa. When the hosts held their
first practice under lights on Friday they found the ball helped the
seam bowlers more at night than during the day, which has been a pattern
in floodlit Tests elsewhere.
The floodlights at St George’s Park were upgraded during the off-season.
Only two Twenty20 matches have been played at the ground since then, with the team batting second winning on both occasions.
Squads:
SOUTH AFRICA:
Faf du Plessis (captain), Dean Elgar, Aiden Markram, Hashim Amla, AB de
Villiers, Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock (wicket-keeper), Theunis de
Bruyn, Andile Phehlukwayo, Vernon Philander, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso
Rabada, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Duanne Olivier
ZIMBABWE:
Graeme Cremer (captain), Hamilton Masakadza, Solomon Mire, Craig
Ervine, Brendan Taylor, Sikandar Raza, Chamu Chibhabha, Ryan Burl, Peter
Moor, Regis Chakabva (wicket-keeper), Kyle Jarvis, Chris Mpofu, Tendai
Chatara, Blessing Muzarabani, Tendai Chisoro
Umpires: Richard Kettleborough (England), Paul Reiffel (Australia)
TV umpire: Michael Gough (England)
Match referee: Chris Broad (England).