The world of South African cricket has been going through a massive upheaval that has seen the team falter away from home in the longest format of the game miserably and disastrous results like these, force the team management to deal a stringent hand that remains mostly sour for the players at helm.
In one such shocking incident, South Africa shuffled through their glittery ranks as they brought onboard Temba Bavumba as the captain for the Test team, replacing the experienced Dean Elgar who has posted scintillating numbers at home but somehow has been a shrinking violet on the road, being handed over some significant ignominy as his team has failed to deliver.
South Africa’s director of cricket, Enoch Nkwe has also disposed Victor Mpitsang off his duties with a boatload of power handed over to test coach, Shukri Conrad to pick his side. At the moment, the South African Test squad comprises three uncapped players namely Tony de Zorzi, Gerald Coetzee and Senuran Muthusamy.
The batting line-up will also have a major uplift through the return of Keegan Petersen from injury and recalls for Aiden Markram and Ryan Rickleton. Heinrich Klaasen will be carrying out the responsibilities of the wicket-keeping batter. Conrad was heard saying in a media release, “We believe we have selected the strongest possible group for this series against a strong West Indies team who are coming here fresh from beating Zimbabwe.”
He further added, “We are pleased to see the likes of Keegan Petersen fit again and ready to play after his injury. He will add some much-needed stability to the batting, which has also been strengthened by the return of Aiden Markram and the maiden call-up of Tony de Zorzi.” The players who were shown the door include the likes of Sarel Erwee and Rassie van der Dussen, while Theunis de Bruyn announced his retirement from international cricket this week.
