Duminy’s form still a concern ahead of first Test at Lord’s
LONDON: There will be a much more positive atmosphere in the Proteas camp today as they start final preparations ahead of Thursday’s first Test at Lord’s.
It’s been a difficult tour on and off the field for players and management, but they appear to have had a good few days in Worcester where they played a strong England Lions team and for the most part got what they wanted out of that threeday game.
There is still no word on whether Faf du Plessis will join the team in time for Thursday’s opener, but the Test side has shown in the past year that it is a resilient group and they’ll rally around Dean Elgar should he lead them at Lord’s.
Although Elgar didn’t get many runs against the Lions, he’ll have been pleased that most of the batsmen spent time at the crease in the warm-up match that ended at New Road on Saturday. Time in the middle was the priority, but runs on the board for Heino Kuhn, who’s set to make his Test debut at Lord’s, Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock and Temba Bavuma, would have lifted their confidence.
“What I’ve found is that the ball swings for a lot longer even when it gets older,” Bavuma, who scored 85 not out, said of English conditions. “You have to be certain about what you’re trying to do. Wickets are a touch slower than we’re used to back home.”
While Elgar would have enjoyed a longer stay than just the 10 minutes he had at the crease, his form in recent weeks for Somerset suggests his in final fettle ahead of the four-match Test series. Of concern among the batsmen is JP Duminy, who spent just 35 minutes at the crease against the Lions and scored 25, while Theunis De Bruyn, who is set to occupy a spot in the middle order if Du Plessis is absent, scored nought. He also struggled for SA “A” in their recent tour and the selectors may think about including an additional all-rounder – most likely Chris Morris – for the first Test.
In mulling over the make up of the starting team, the selectors will also be keeping a close eye on how Vernon Philander progresses in the next couple of days. He is trying to regain full fitness after suffering an ankle injury while playing for Surrey two weeks ago.
The rest of the bowlers got through a good amount of work against the Lions although bowling coach Charl Langeveldt was unhappy about the 13 no-balls that were served up.
“Our guys bowled well, but we got two wickets off no-balls, which is a concern. It is something we will need to correct going forward,” said Langeveldt. “It has been a problem in the past but KG (Rabada) has had a few weeks off so he will hit his straps on Monday and will be ready for Thursday.”
Rabada, Morne Morkel and Morris bowled a combined 47 overs against the Lions, with left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj getting through 18 overs of work. Ironically, given his batting problems, De Bruyn showed he might be an option with the ball picking up two wickets.