Head coach Shukri Conrad axed batsman Tristan Stubbs and wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne on Thursday as he announced a significantly reshuffled squad for the second Test against Australia, starting Sunday.
Also read: Australia thrash Proteas by 214 runs as Hazlewood stars
Stubbs was dropped from the squad altogether, while Verreynne remains as back-up wicketkeeper, but the most eye-catching decision signalled a major shake-up of the batting order. Conrad confirmed that Ryan Rickelton would take over the gloves, a move that could see the left-hander shifted down the order after two failures as an opener in the crushing 214-run defeat in the first Test in Durban.
Conrad’s frustration boils over after Durban humbling
The 214-run thrashing at Kingsmead clearly stung. Conrad made no effort to disguise his frustration with a batting line-up that had once again failed to fire, accusing his side of relying far too heavily on “lower-order runs” to paper over the cracks at the top of the order.
Only Aiden Markram and captain Temba Bavuma emerged from the Durban debacle with any credit, the pair proving the sole consistent contributors among the top order. For everyone else, the first Test was a tale of missed opportunities and squandered starts, and Conrad has now responded with the sort of decisive action that leaves no one in the dressing room under any illusions about their place.
Rickelton handed the Gloves as stubbs pays the price
The decision to entrust Rickelton with the wicketkeeping duties is perhaps the most intriguing element of Conrad’s reshuffle. After two disappointing innings as an opener, the move may be as much about freeing Rickelton from the pressures of facing the new ball as it is about bolstering the middle order. By taking him away from the top of the order and handing him a defined role behind the stumps, Conrad may hope to extract the best from a player whose talent has never been in question.
Aslo read: No concussion for Smith as Australia push for 1-0 lead
Stubbs, meanwhile, pays the price for a string of underwhelming performances. Once regarded as one of the brightest young prospects in South African cricket, the batsman has found runs hard to come by at the highest level and now finds himself surplus to requirements as Conrad searches for a formula capable of troubling the Australians.
Rabada in line for return
South Africa seem set to make at least three changes for the second Test, with the most welcome news for Proteas fans the likely return of fast bowling spearhead Kagiso Rabada. The pace ace missed the Durban Test as he continued his rehabilitation from a hamstring injury, but he now appears in line for a recall that would significantly bolster a bowling attack that, for all its quality, lacked its cutting edge in the series opener.
Also read: Injury crisis guts Proteas pace attack before Australia series
Rabada’s return would add venom and experience to a South African attack that already boasts the considerable talents of Marco Jansen, Anrich Nortje and the spin pairing of Keshav Maharaj and Simon Harmer. Whether all of them can be accommodated in the same XI, however, remains one of the selection puzzles Conrad must solve before Sunday.
Breetzke earns a call-up
Conrad’s squad also features a new face in Matthew Breetzke, who has been rewarded for his heavy scoring in one-day internationals with a call-up to the Test set-up. The right-hander’s inclusion gives the coach another option at the top of the order, a position that has become a longstanding problem for South Africa, and his form in the limited-overs format suggests he possesses the temperament and appetite for runs that the Proteas so desperately need.
A defining week for the Proteas
The squad announcement carries all the hallmarks of a coach who has run out of patience. Conrad’s willingness to make sweeping changes , dropping a highly rated young batsman, reassigning the wicketkeeping role, and calling up a player on the back of white-ball form, speaks to a man determined to arrest the slide before the series slips beyond reach.
With the second Test getting under way on Sunday, South Africa know that anything less than a dramatic improvement on their Durban showing will leave them facing the prospect of a series defeat on home soil, a bitter pill for the reigning World Test champions to swallow.
South Africa Squad
Temba Bavuma (capt), Marques Ackerman, David Bedingham, Matthew Breetzke, Corbin Bosch, Gerald Coetzee, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Anrich Nortje, Dane Paterson, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Kyle Verreynne.
