Rabada closes in on another milestone
Fast bowler set to earn his 22nd cap
It’s taken a long time‚ but Kagiso Rabada will finally play as many Tests as he has had years on the face of the earth in Bloemfontein today (10am).
Fast bowler Rabada‚ 22‚ is set to earn his 22nd cap for South Africa in the second test against Bangladesh.
Not only that‚ he will lead the home side’s attack in the wake of a spate of injuries to a number of his most experienced peers.
This week‚ Morne Morkel joined Dale Steyn‚ Vernon Philander and Chris Morris on the sidelines – making Rabada the undisputed boss of the bowlers (on the day).
But that’s among the few certainties about the composition of SA’s XI.
“You want to make sure that the venom in your attack is still the same‚” captain Faf du Plessis said yesterday.
“With Morne‚ ‘KG’ [Rabada]‚ Vernon and Dale there‚ there’s an expectancy of what you’re going to get. If you don’t have those guys out there you’re not sure. So it’s important for us to look at how we can best balance the side, while still having a strong attack,” said Du Plessis.
“The challenge is‚ if Morne’s out‚ do we still play three frontline seamers and an allrounder or do we look at four seamers and two allrounders?
“There’s lots to consider, but it’s important to be really strong in attack because you want to put Bangladesh under pressure with pace.”
Simply‚ three players – allrounders Wayne Parnell and Andile Phehlukwayo and uncapped fast bowler Dane Paterson – are competing for two places.
At least Duanne Olivier can be assured that he will share the new ball with Rabada‚ and that’s on his home ground. This, despite the fact that he has only played only four Tests‚ a measure of South Africa’s reality thanks to their lengthy injury list.
Whoever the Proteas settle on‚ they will hope the pitch is better than the flat surface they were presented with in the first Test in Potchefstroom. South Africa won by 333 runs‚ dismissing Bangladesh for their record low of 90 in the second innings‚ but Du Plessis was happy to report that he expected the surface in Bloem to be more responsive.