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. 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.
“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. Meanwhile, Nortje returns to the Test side after last featuring in a red-ball game against the West Indies at Centurion in March 2023. “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.
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. “It was not an easy one,” Bavuma told reporters. “As soon as he gets the green light, we expect him to to be within that starting lineup,” he added. “It’s hard to ignore his X-factor,” Bavuma said of Nortje.
