South Africa tasted long-awaited success with victory in the World Test Championship final against Australia earlier this month, but there will be several new faces for the first test against Zimbabwe that starts in Bulawayo on Saturday.
Captain Temba Bavuma remains sidelined with a hamstring injury sustained during the five-wicket victory at Lord’s. In addition, key players Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, and fast bowlers Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen, and Lungi Ngidi have been rested. Ngidi is expected to return for the second Test, but with seven of the Lord’s XI unavailable, the Proteas will present a new-look team eager to prove themselves.
Young and aggressive batters Matthew Breetzke, Dewald Brevis, and 19-year-old Lhuan-dre Pretorius are in contention for starting roles, with at least two likely to feature. Experienced domestic performer Lesego Senokwane could also make his international debut.
Given the typically slow nature of the Bulawayo pitch, stand-in captain Keshav Maharaj is expected to lead a spin-heavy attack, alongside off-spinning all-rounder Prenelan Subrayen. Talented 19-year-old pacer Kwena Maphaka, who debuted earlier this year against Pakistan, could also be handed an opportunity, while uncapped seamer Codi Yusuf is included in the squad.
There are a lot of guys looking to prove why they’ve been selected, based on their strong performances over recent domestic seasons, said all rounder Wiaan Mulder. We see ourselves as world champions now, and that’s the standard we want to maintain. The newcomers stepping into the roles of players like Ricks (Rickelton) and Marco (Jansen) will definitely raise the level of competition within the squad.
Zimbabwe, too, will be without several key players. Batter Ben Curran and pace spearhead Richard Ngarava are both out injured, while veteran all-rounder Sikandar Raza has opted to play in the United States’ Major League Cricket during this period.
There’s a lot of energy in the squad. The guys are excited and up for the challenge, said Zimbabwe head coach Justin Sammons, a native of South Africa. They’re eager to test themselves and show what they’re capable of. There’s a real desire to make a statement in the coming weeks.
Historically, South Africa has dominated the Test encounters between the two sides, winning eight of their previous nine meetings. The only draw came in 2001 also the last time the teams met in Bulawayo.
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