Proteas drop Cook for Kuhn
PROTEAS: COOK MAKES WAY FOR JOURNEYMAN KUHN Elgar set to captain tourists in first match against England.
The Proteas will approach the first Test against England at Lord’s next Thursday with poor form in the build-up, uncertainty over the captaincy and three uncapped players in their squad.
The day after a 2-1 T20 series defeat added to their ODI series loss by the same margin and the Champions Trophy fiasco, South Africa announced a 16-man squad for the four Tests against England which will be a last-ditch effort to rescue a miserable tour, and the selectors have included the uncapped trio of top-order Titans batsmen Heino Kuhn and Aiden Markram, and all-rounder Andile Phehlukwayo, who has impressed in white-ball cricket.
The 33-year-old Kuhn will almost certainly open the batting at Lord’s alongside Dean Elgar and make his Test debut a dozen years after a first-class career, that has seen him score over 9 000 runs, began. Kuhn, who has played seven T20s for South Africa since 2009, was one of the players to shine in the disastrous recent SA A tour of England, scoring a double century against Hampshire and a hundred last week against the England Lions.
He replaces Stephen Cook, the 34-year-old opener who scored just 17 runs in four innings on the previous tour to New Zealand, and who has failed to convert some promising recent innings for Durham into centuries.
Elgar looks set to captain the team at Lord’s because regular captain Faf du Plessis is unlikely to be back in time from the birth of his first child, expected in early July. Theunis de Bruyn would then bat at three in Du Plessis’ place, with Markram called up as batting cover.
Phehlukwayo, who has played just 24 first-class games and averages only 19 with the bat and 35 with the ball, replaces Wayne Parnell in the Test squad and will want to build on the confidence he has shown in the T20 internationals against England.
Because Kuhn can also keep wicket, Heinrich Klaasen drops out and Dane Piedt is also absent as the selectors have gone with Keshav Maharaj as the only specialist spinner.
“Heino Kuhn has shown outstanding form for South Africa A on their recent tour of England and he certainly deserved his place on consistent form, which also includes back-to-back Sunfoil Series seasons,” selection convenor Linda Zondi said.
“Andile’s selection is a continuation of our drive to develop bowling all-rounders for the Test team and he and Chris Morris will fill this role in support of Vernon Philander. At the age of 21, he is certainly one for the future.
“Dean has impressed with his contribution as a member of the leadership group and will captain the side in the warm-up match and will stand in for Du Plessis in the first Test match if he is not available for selection,” Zondi added.