A fractured thumb leads to withdrawal of Jon-Jon

TOP order batsman Jon-Jon Smuts has been withdrawn from the South African A squad currently taking part in the triangular series against India A and Afghanistan A in Pretoria due to a thumb injury.

The Warriors batsman was taken for scans after the two wicket win over India A on Wednesday in the opening match of the series and was diagnosed with a fractured thumb. Coach Shukri Conrad said there will be no replacement.

The withdrawal of Smuts allowed Conrad to promote Cobras allrounder Dane Paterson to number three.

“Losing Jon-Jon (Smuts) didn’t make it any easier‚ but not for one minute did I think we were going to cruise there. It was always going to be a tough assignment. I, as a coach‚ am reasonably happy and hopefully they can continue in that trend‚” said Conrad.

South Africa A play their second match of the series against Afghanistan tomorrow at the University of Pretoria and Conrad is excited to see how his side will execute some of the lessons from the first match.

“For starters‚ we need to make sure that we don’t underestimate the opposition‚” Conrad added.

“Not that our focus is about the opposition‚ it’s about the standards and the excellence that we want to set for ourselves.

“Sometimes not knowing what to expect is a good thing because it frees you up and you’re forced to play what’s in front of you.

“We’re gonna look to keep building on what we want to do and the type of cricket that we want to play. There’s still a lot of work to be done and if we keep following those processes then I’m sure it will result in a lot more wins. — TimesLIVE