Durban, Oct 8 — South Africa confirmed their Playing XI for the first of the three Test matches against Australia, starting in Durban on Friday, as tearaway fast bowler Kagiso Rabada missed out, with Anrich Nortje returning after over three years.
Rabada, who was dealing with a hamstring injury, went through the paces at training and bowled to an empty net although he was a notch below full tilt. A call on his availability for the opening Test was delayed "as late as possible," batting coach Ashwell Prince had said, but the pacer missed out.
However, the Proteas are hopeful of Rabada being available for the second Test in Gqeberha, with skipper Temba Bavuma claiming that he was close to getting picked for the opener too.
"It was not an easy one," Bavuma told reporters. "I think we did go the conservative route to give him a couple of extra days to get as close as he can be to 100 per cent fitness. "As soon as he gets the green light, we expect him to to be within that starting lineup," he added.
Meanwhile, Nortje returns to the Test side after last featuring in a red-ball game against the West Indies at Centurion in March 2023. He was recently seen in action with the Rotterdam Dockers in the inaugural European T20 League. He got the nod ahead of the likes of Dane Paterson and Gerald Coetzee with his extra pace.
"It's hard to ignore his X-factor," Bavuma said of Nortje. "There's not many guys around who are bowling 150(kph) plus, and I think as a batter, that's not something that I would look forward to.
"As much as he doesn't have the weight of overs under his belt of bowling with the red ball, he has been doing work with the bowling coaches. He's been very impressive in the nets. So, it was a calculated call to give Anrich a go," he added.
The Proteas have two pace options, with Marco Jansen being the other. They have, unsurprisingly, picked two spin options in Keshav Maharaj and off-spinner Simon Harmer, while pace all-rounder Wiaan Mulder is the fifth bowling option.
South Africa XI: Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, David Beddingham, Temba Bavuma (c), Tristan Stubbs, Wiaan Mulder, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Simon Harmer, Anrich Nortje