Faf to stand in for AB again?
THE PROTEAS may be forced to field a different captain in the historic ODI against Ireland in Benoni on Sunday (10am start) with regular skipper AB de Villiers still an injury concern.
De Villiers missed the twoTest series against New Zealand with an elbow problem – while also nursing several other niggles – last month, leaving T20 captain Faf du Plessis to lead the national side to a 1-0 series win.
Du Plessis has taken charge of the ODI side before and would be the logical choice to lead South Africa at Willowmore Park, should De Villiers be ruled out.
It was expected that De Villiers would recover in time to face the Irish in order for the world’s No 1 ODI batsman to get some time in the middle before the much-anticipated five-match series against Australia, which gets underway next Friday.
The world champions arrived in the country yesterday and will also face Ireland in a one-off game ahead of the series against the Proteas.
“AB will be assessed on Thursday (today) morning where a call will be made on his fitness,” Proteas team manager Mohammed Moosajee said.
“If there (are) no symptoms of the injury, he will be further assessed after a team middle practice on Friday (tomorrow).”
De Villiers’ withdrawal would be a big blow to an already trimmed-down Proteas squad. The selectors have opted for only 13 players against Ireland – the squad for the Australian series consists of 16 – with senior players Hashim Amla, Dale Steyn and Imran Tahir being given one extra week to rest.
There are also three potential ODI debutants – batsman Temba Bavuma, and all-rounders Andile Phehlukwayo and Dwaine Pretorius – set to line up against Ireland, while there could be a fourth if De Villiers doesn’t take the field on Sunday.
The national selection panel are unlikely to call up Amla, as the former Proteas Test captain is in desperate need of some rest after playing in the various T20 leagues around the world during the “off season”.
This could pave the way for Titans left-hander Qaasim Adams or Knights captain Theunis de Bruyn to earn a maiden Proteas call-up.
The duo impressed on the recent SA A tour to Australia and could have considered themselves unlucky not to be called up to the senior national team.
Adams performed well in a struggling SA A lineup with consistent scoring in the middle-order, and finished the tour with 201 runs from seven matches at an average of 50.25.
De Bruyn found some good form towards the latter end of the tour and finished off the trip Down Under with 217 runs at an average of 54.25, courtesy of an undefeated 90 in the final match.
Bavuma is expected to slot into the opener’s role alongside Quinton de Kock, leaving a gap in the middle-order.
The selectors may want to utilise all four all-rounders. with Chris Morris and Wayne Parnell likely to join Phehlukwayo and Pretorius in the starting XI.
This option could be the start of a new road for the Proteas in limited-overs cricket, as they hope to lengthen the batting lineup with bowlers who can also offer something with the bat.