Three newcomers to the Proteas test team

Cricket South Africa (CSA) has appointed Proteas Test team to face Sri Lanka in the two-game series to be played during the traditional Boxing Day and New Year’s windows.

This follows Friday’s announcement that Quinton de Kock will be the captain of the test team in the 2020/21 season.

There are three newcomers to the Proteas test team in the form of Sarel erwee, Glenton’s Companion and Kyle verreynne.

Former South Africa U19 captain, Wiaan mulder, also returns to the national team after a long layoff due to injury.

Erwee, 31, has enjoyed a long period of consistent good performances culminating in his call-up for this tour, most notably his 199 in the season opener of the Dolphins’ CSA 4-Day National Series vs. Lions last month. He’s averaging 60 28 with 469 runs in eight innings so far in competition.

Stuurman will make an exciting addition to Protea’s bowling attack. The 28-year-old, medium-paced right-arm player from Oudtshoorn boasts an impressive 4-day Series record of 181 wickets in 46 games with a bowling average of 21.28 for the Warriors. His best 7/12 bowling figures are topped off by a high score of 81 of his 671 total runs, making him a player to be reckoned with in this format.

The last season has been an impressive one for Verreynne, 23, in the National 4 Day Series. He amassed 551 runs in 11 innings, averaging 55.10, including two centuries and three half centuries for Cape Cobras. Before joining the national team for the limited tour of overs against England, he had deposited 247 runs in two games, averaging 61.75 in his competition tally.

The Proteas will be confident with the depth of batting at their disposal.

Aiden Markram, who had his test summer interrupted by a fractured finger last season, has been outstanding for the Titans in the opening rounds of the 4-Day Series this season, breaking three centuries and returning a total of 469 runs in four. matches. with an average of 78.16.

Keegan Petersen, who was on the test team during England’s visit last season, has a century and a half under his belt for the Dolphins, averaging 57.66 in the competition, while Mulder brings much-needed off-road capabilities. in the fold with a fresh and undefeated century from last week to his account with the Lions, also enjoying a higher than 50 average (59.25).

Kagiso Rabada and Dwaine Pretorius are still not fit enough for the physical efforts of test cricket as a result of injuries sustained during the England tour. They and one or two other players who are being considered by the selectors will go through evaluations in the next few days to see if they will be fit enough to be added to the team before the second game.

An update will be provided next week, CSA said.

Therefore, Lungi Ngidi will lead the pace attack with Anrich Nortje and Beuran Hendricks, who impressed last summer against England. Ngidi missed the cricket test last season due to injury.

Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka series will be part of the ICC World Testing Championship (WTC).

The visitors made history in February 2019 when they became the first Asian team to win a Test series in South Africa after emphatically beating the hosts 2-0. They are currently in fifth place on the WTC points table with 27 games played and South Africa is sixth with 23 games played.

“It goes without saying that we are very excited about the decisions we have made for the test team.” Victor mpitsang, The CSA selectors coordinator said in a press release. “The people on the team are a testament to the fact that hard work will bring its rewards and the Selection Panel, and I can’t wait to see what the new calls have to offer.

“While we may be on the ‘young’ side in terms of experience in test cricket, we think the team will more than make up for it when they put it to the test, so to speak. South Africa is blessed to boast a lot of depth thanks to Our cricket portfolio, and the spots for each spot on our national teams are hotly contested – it hasn’t been an easy task to narrow it down to this final team of 15.

“This series is particularly important to our ICC World Test Championship campaign and the crucial points that come with it.

“We look forward to what promises to be a competitive series and to get a good look at the players at hand. Our last test match at home against Sri Lanka did not end in our favor and we are eager to see the potential emergence that we know. who has this team.

“Test cricket is the pinnacle of every player’s career and is the culmination of many years of hard work and interference, so we know that we will not lack the dedication of the players who will wear the green cap. I wish you all. I wish Mark Boucher, Quinton de Kock, the team and their support staff all the best for this important tour, “concluded Mpitsang.

Proteas Test Squad:

Quinton de Kock (Captain, Titans), Temba Bavuma (Lions), Aiden Markram (Titans), Faf du Plessis (Titans), Beuran Hendricks (Lions), Dean Elgar (Titans), Keshav Maharaj (Dolphins), Lungi Ngidi (Titans) )), Rassie van der Dussen (Lions), Sarel Erwee (Dolphins), Anrich Nortje (Warriors), Glenton Stuurman (Warriors), Wiaan Mulder (Lions), Keegan Petersen (Dolphins), Kyle Verreynne (Cape Cobras).

Test series against Sri Lanka:

December 26-30, 2020 at 10:00 AM
1st Test Match (WTC) South Africa v Sri Lanka, SuperSport Park, Centurion

January 3-7, 2021 at 10:00
2nd Test Match (WTC) South Africa vs Sri Lanka, Imperial Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

– Compiled by Sport24 staff