SRI LANKA TOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA, 2020-21
Beuran Hendricks made his testing debut earlier this year against England © Getty
Beuran Hendricks and Keegan Petersen have been withdrawn from the South African squad to play two Tests against Sri Lanka, starting at Centurion on Saturday. CSA did not explain their absence when it updated the team on Tuesday, but it has also not identified the two players who tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday.
South Africa Test Team:Quinton de Kock (captain), Temba Bavuma, Aiden Markram, Faf du Plessis, Dean Elgar, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Rassie van der Dussen, Anrich Nortje, Glenton Stuurman, Sarel Erwee, Wiaan Mulder, Kyle Verreynne, Migaeline Pretorius, Dwaeline Pretorius, Lutho Sipamla, Raynard van Tonder
Importantly, the positive tests were announced before the teams entered a biosecure environment on Saturday. Three rounds of testing have been conducted Thursday through Tuesday and no other cases of the disease have been announced. That means the bubble can be considered safe, at least from a South African perspective. Efforts to determine the Covid situation in Sri Lanka have been unsuccessful.
Featured hitter Petersen had a long shot of a spot in the XI, but Hendricks probably would have won his second international game. He rallied from taking 1/111 in the first inning of his debut, against England on the Wanderers in January, to claim 5/64 the second time.
His loot included the grounds of Joe Root and Ben Stokes, and he fired Dominic Sibley in both innings. That, the fact that Hendricks’ debut was South Africa’s most recent test, and his left arm in a right-arm attack should have seen him hold his place.
Quinton de Kock hinted Monday that uncovered Glenton Stuurman could break the go-ahead on Saturday and replace Hendricks. Allrounder Dwaine Pretorius, who won the last of his three internationals in the same match in which Hendricks made his debut but has built a reputation as a white ball specialist, is also an option. Regardless, South Africa’s fast-paced bowling alley, a perennial fortress, will be weakened by Kagiso Rabada’s unavailability due to a groin injury.
South Africa’s focus on Covid testing is understandable considering England abandoned their white-ball tour on December 10 with three of their six games left unplayed after a series of positive tests within the bubble. Last week, two of the three matches in South Africa’s senior class competition were affected by the pandemic. One game was canceled after the first day, and in total all 10 players on the test team were exposed to the virus. This week’s round of matches was postponed. Shortly before Thursday’s virus cases were revealed, Raynard van Tonder, Lutho Sipamla and Pretorius were added to the team.
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