Last leg of Australian trip is important for Markram, Klaasen, Hendricks, Behardien to make a case for selection down the road

THE PROTEAS have spent an unusually long time in Australia, for the purposes of three one-day internationals and a T20 fixture.

Indeed, the whole itinerary could have been squeezed into a fortnight, rather than the nearly month long trip that it has been.

There has been an awful lot of downtime for the squad, considering what is happening back in South Africa.

That being said, it all comes to an end tomorrow, when the Proteas are the guests of honour at the opening of a brand spanking new arena in Carrara.

If the logic was to ensure a bumper Saturday night crowd, with the opponents being Australia’s most earnest foes over the years then, perhaps, there is method to the procrastination madness.

And yet, both nations may have learnt an awful lot more from scheduling a couple more ODIs over this last week of the tour, rather than the candy floss of a T20 international – even to a new audience.

Quinton De Kock and his T20 charges brushed up what preparation they needed for tomorrow with an easy win over a Cricket Australia XI yesterday.

There were runs for Aiden Markram (45), Heinrich Klaasen (41), Reeza Hendricks (39) and an important finishing cameo by Farhaan Behardien, in his first taste of action on the trip.

In that sense, then this last leg of the trip is important for those players to make a case for selection down the road.

The first ever international match at the Metricon Stadium is important for Australia, and SA have done the sort of thing a good friend would doand agreed to it.