Franklin out of Test

JAMES FRANKLIN has been ruled out with a hamstring injury with Colin Munro called up for his debut. He will bat at number seven and be used as a fourth seam bowler.

Pretoria-born Neil Wagner, with two Tests under his belt against the West Indies, will also be given another opportunity, replacing another left-arm seamer, Chris Martin.

“We thought the more aggressive option of Wagner – especially with a potentially drier pitch and his ability to reverse swing the ball – is going to serve us better to try and even up the series,” captain Brendon McCullum said. “Neil’s an aggressive customer and I expect him to play extremely hard, especially being from South Africa and playing against South Africa.” than most of us in the team.”

Kleinveldt had a good understanding of what was required of him and it was a fortuitous opportunity for him to grow as a cricketer at Test level, said Smith.

Developing Kleinveldt into a fullyfledged Test bowler also added more depth to the Test squad.

Morné Morkel would be given an opportunity to take the new ball and Smith said his physical strength would be an advantage in the local conditions.

“Morné’s taken the new ball a few times for us before Vernon came into the team, and he does bowl well in windy conditions as he’s strong at the crease. He’s an asset for us because he’s a guy who can bowl heavy balls into the wind, which is important for us.”

Smith said he was thoroughly enjoying his captaincy and working in an environment where the coach and management staff had removed a lot of pressure from his shoulders.

He could concentrate more on the actual game of cricket rather than on what was happening off the field.

The same cannot be said for New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum, who received a rude awakening in his first Test as captain last week when his side were bowled out for 45 in the first innings.

“We can’t overlook what happened in that first innings, but at the same time we can’t dwell on it because it affects our confidence,” McCullum said. “While we learned lessons from it, we also identified that we’d made progress and made some good adjustments in a very short time. We showed some qualities that we want to be known for as a team.” – Sapa