After over three years of his absence from Test cricket, Anrich Nortjé is in the South Africa’s initial group to compete in the Australia series. His return is welcome at a time when the Proteas are struggling with a couple of issues regarding their bowling.
Nortjé has last played Test cricket in March 2023 and hasn’t been seen in first-class cricket since. He has since dedicated himself mainly to limited-overs cricket, to the extent that he has made 104 white-ball appearances, 18 of them in T20Is and three in ODIs.
The Australia series will thus be a huge workload for the 31-year-old. He will be included in the final 11 depending on his performance in the camp for South Africa in Durban from October 1.
There is also Kagiso Rabada in the team but his availability is unclear. Rabada is recovering from hamstring issue and coach Shukri Conrad aims to test him in two days’ intra-squad game before making a decision on his readiness for the first Test.
The question of who’s in the starting XI extends beyond those two fast bowlers in the South African team. Lungi Ngidi, Kwena Maphaka, Ottneil Baartman and Lutho Sipamla are also in with hamstring injuries, which is why the selectors opted to bring on seven fast bowlers, in the first 18 of the squad.
Thus Gerald Coetzee, Corbin Bosch, Marco Jansen and Dane Paterson, the four, find themselves in the preparation camp with opportunities to stake their claim. The bigger the bowling side is, the more the coaching staff will be able to try out combinations to choose the 15,” Conrad said.
They will play the first Test on October 9 in Durban, and will have a narrow window to set up the attack of their choice. A scenario based training will complement the intra-squad fixture as South Africa test fitness and conditions.
There is considerably less uncertainty among the batters. The only uncapped player in the bunch is Marques Ackerman, who has more than pushed his way into consideration with a stellar first-class season.
Ackerman has already collected her third century in six first class appearances of the year, notably one of 256 off the bat in August at Pretoria against Bangladesh A. His performance will provide another bat against a side that already has Test players.
Dewald Brevis, who was named for the last Test tour of India, but did not get to play, has been left out this time.
In Durban, South Africa will be finalizing their final 15. Nortjé’s addition offers the prospect of a much-needed red-ball comeback, while Rabada’s fitness remains a big unknown before Australia.