Springboks’ selection puzzle

SELECTION is likely to be South Africa’s biggest challenge ahead of its one-off day-night Test against Zimbabwe, starting at St George’s Park tonight.

Zimbabwe is unlikely to stretch the home side, but South Africa, ranked second in Test cricket, will want to establish its best XI in this four-day Test ahead of a three-match series against India, starting on January 5.

With the return of AB de Villiers and Dale Steyn after long absences from Test cricket, and with all South Africa’s front-line fast bowlers fit for the first time in more than a year, coach Ottis Gibson described the selection issue as “a good nightmare”.

“India are the No. 1 team in the world at the moment and we know we need to be at our best if we are going to compete with them and beat them, which is our ultimate goal,” Gibson said.

Six or seven batsmen? Three or four fast bowlers? A spin bowler? An all-rounder? These are all questions that will be troubling Gibson and his fellow selectors. The situation is complicated by South Africa’s racial balancing act, with Cricket South Africa committed to having an average of six players of colour, including two black Africans, in starting teams.

Three black Africans — batsman Temba Bavuma, all-rounder Andile Phehlukwayo and fast bowler Kagiso Rabada — played in South Africa’s most recent Test matches, two onesided encounters against Bangladesh.