SA test squad wind-blown with change

Times Media

TELFORD VICE, Johannesburg

Dane Piedt and Stiaan van Zyl made the grade. Simon Harmer did not. Quinton de Kock and Kyle Abbott earned their keep, unlike Thami Tsolekile, Rory Kleinveldt, Ryan McLaren and Robin Peterson. And, of course, Graeme Smith is no longer around.

The first squad that will play under Hashim Amla’s captaincy - in two tests in Sri Lanka next month - is wind-blown with change.

Cobras couple Piedt and Van Zyl were rewarded for finishing as the leading run-scorer and wicket-taker in the franchise first-class competition last season.

Selection convenor Andrew Hudson described Piedt as “an off-spinner who can do something different” - bowl a doosra, for instance - and he ascribed picking Van Zyl to recognising the achievements of “guys who have performed over a period of time: the message is that we have a lot of talent at franchise level”.

Warriors off-spinner Harmer, the top wicket-taker two seasons ago and five scalps behind Piedt in 2013-14, will hope Hudson is consistent in his thinking.

Smith’s place at the top of the order is set to be filled by Dean Elgar, who “has shown us that he can open”, Hudson said.

A key question facing SA in Sri Lanka is who will bat at No. 7. If two spinners are selected, a top six of Alviro Petersen, Elgar, Amla, Faf du Plessis, AB de Villiers and JP Duminy will be entrusted with scoring the bulk of the runs. But a single spinner approach - Imran Tahir is back as the first choice after losing out to Peterson in last season’s series against Australia - would leave a gap for another batsman. Will he be De Kock or Van Zyl?

The only other test cricket SA are currently scheduled play next season is one-off match in Zimbabwe and a three-match home series against West Indies. Instead, the focus is on one-day cricket, what with the 2015 World Cup looming in Australasia next February and March.

SA could play as many as 25 one-day internationals before the tournament, starting with three against Sri Lanka.

The squad for that engagement features Beuran Hendricks, who is uncapped in ODIs, and Aaron Phangiso. It also includes Jacques Kallis, while Du Plessis will fill the vacancy left by Smith. Lonwabo Tsotsobe, who is recovering from ankle surgery, was not considered.

“I hope ‘Lopsy’ (Tsotsobe) will be back sooner rather than later - I’m concerned that we haven’t got him playing now,” Hudson said.

“Part of this World Cup build-up is that you want combinations working, and we want Jacques to play as part of the mix. He’s got to be playing so we can try out different combinations.”

What will not change is that De Villiers will captain the one-day team with Amla as his deputy, and with those roles reversed in the test side.

SA squads:

Test: Hashim Amla (captain), Kyle Abbott, Quinton de Kock, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Dean Elgar, Imran Tahir, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Alviro Petersen, Vernon Philander, Dane Piedt, Dale Steyn, Stiaan van Zyl.

ODI: AB de Villiers (captain), Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Beuran Hendricks, Imran Tahir, Jacques Kallis, Ryan McLaren, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Aaron Phangiso, Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn.