Ken Borland

Back in April director of cricket Graeme Smith assured us that Quinton de Kock would not be the Test captain as well as the white-ball skipper but in the eight months since then there has obviously been an about-turn because the wicketkeeper/batsman was on Friday named as the captain for the entire 2020/21 season.

In that period South Africa will host Test series against Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Australia, as well as touring Pakistan, but the Proteas management have decided the workload of being captain, wicketkeeper and key batsman in a rebuilding team are within De Kock’s capabilities. Crucially, they must have convinced the 28-year-old that he can keep all those balls in the air because De Kock himself has been reluctant about leading in all three formats.

The 15-man squad announced on Friday contains four uncapped players in top-order batsman Sarel Erwee, seamer Glenton Stuurman, batsman Keegan Petersen and wicketkeeper/batsman Kyle Verreynne, who could force his way into the side if De Kock is relieved of the gloves.

Pace bowling spearhead Kagiso Rabada and all-rounder Dwaine Pretorius were not considered for the squad due to injury. Imperial Lions star Wiaan Mulder therefore makes a return to the squad, having overcome all his injuries and starring with the bat in the most recent round of four-day matches.

Aiden Markram, the leading run-scorer in the four-day competition after three consecutive centuries, is in the squad, but there is no place for Pieter Malan, who played in the Proteas last Test, against England in January.

The retirement of Vernon Philander has led to the selection of the like-for-like Stuurman, while the other players missing from that Wanderers Test are the injured Pretorius and Dane Paterson, who has followed the trail overseas.

The new convenor of selectors, Victor Mpitsang, could well face questions from the transformation lobby over there being just six players of colour in the 15-man squad.

Proteas Test squad against Sri Lanka:

Quinton de Kock (captain, Momentum Multiply Titans), Temba Bavuma (Imperial Lions), Aiden Markram (Momentum Multiply Titans), Faf du Plessis (Momentum Multiply Titans), Beuran Hendricks (Imperial Lions), Dean Elgar (Momentum Multiply Titans), Keshav Maharaj (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Lungi Ngidi (Momentum Multiply Titans), Rassie van der Dussen (Imperial Lions), Sarel Erwee (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Anrich Nortje (Warriors), Glenton Stuurman (Warriors), Wiaan Mulder (Imperial Lions), Keegan Petersen (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Kyle Verreynne (Six Gun Grill Cape Cobras).

It says much for the environment at the Imperial Lions that they were able to pardon top-order batsman Dominic Hendricks for averaging just 21.93 in the 2017/18 season, keeping their faith in him and now reaping the benefits as the diminutive left-hander has averaged more than 40 in the three first-class seasons, including the current one, since then.

The 30-year-old Hendricks has scored two centuries in four matches this season and has the seventh-highest runs tally in the four-day competition thus far. Clearly he is repaying the faith shown in him by the two-time defending champions.

“I never thought that my career was in trouble because at the Lions they have created a set-up that even if you play badly then you are still backed and encouraged to go out and express yourself. Then you just have to make sure you ride the wave when you come out on the other side. In the past two years I have been really good, but I wasn’t quite where I should have been three seasons ago.

“But at the back end of Enoch Nkwe’s season as coach [2018/19], I ran with some form and I was able to transfer it to both formats. I’m loving opening the batting again, before I was coming in at three or four, and I have more understanding of my game now. Not much has changed technically, but I now realise what I’m capable of and when I’m in, I cash in, I’m starting to get hundreds,” Hendricks said at the Wanderers on Thursday.

The Lions made a disappointing start to their title defence this season, getting thumped by the Dolphins in Durban and then being held to a draw by the winless Cape Cobras at the Wanderers, but Hendricks said it was just not taking their chances that came back to ail them. And excellent wins in their last two matches – against the high-flying Knights and the Warriors in Port Elizabeth – proves the point that all is well in the Lions camp.

“We played good cricket in patches at the start of the season, but we were unlucky with the weather against the Cobras, we lost a day and a bit in that match. But we did not take all our chances in those games and in the last couple of matches we’ve put that right and we’ve been fortunate with the weather. We’ve been playing some good cricket.

“We’ve had two very different sides in the last two games and the biggest thing has been that the guys stepping in have really stood up to the task. Wiaan Mulder and Wesley Marshall have also scored hundreds and Josh Richards got runs, and Sisanda Magala has been taking wickets so we have a really competitive squad. Getting the Proteas back this weekend will not be too disruptive because it’s been happening the last few years,” Hendricks said.

South Africa’s new Test captain will take office on Friday with Cricket South Africa due to make the announcement following a lengthy meeting between the selectors and director of cricket Graeme Smith on Thursday afternoon.

While Smith said back in April that white-ball skipper Quinton de Kock will not be the Test captain as well due to workload concerns – a decision the wicketkeeper/batsman has backed – there have been recent mutterings that, with a new convenor of selectors in place in Victor Mpitsang, that position might be revisited.

But Mpitsang, newly installed as convenor, is unlikely to want to rock the boat too much as he presides over his first Test squad. There was certainly nothing controversial or left-field in the white-ball squads chosen for the curtailed series against England, and it is most likely that a placeholder captain will be put in place on Friday.

That’s because two of the most obvious candidates for the captaincy – batsmen Aiden Markram and Temba Bavuma – have not exactly cemented their places in the Test line-up.

Markram averaged just 28.61 in 2019 and needs to win his place in the XI back after injuring himself in the Boxing Day Test a year ago against England. While he has almost certainly done that by scoring three successive centuries for the Titans in four-day cricket, he now needs to regain that consistency at international level.

Bavuma returned to the side for the final Test against England, scoring 27 and 6 as South Africa’s batting disappointed at the Wanderers, and he averaged just 19.84 in 2019. And in all cricket this summer he has scored just 150 runs in six innings, plus he will not be playing in this weekend’s round of four-day matches for the Imperial Lions, having been released to attend to personal matters.

But with Faf du Plessis having retired from Test cricket, Bavuma is almost certain to keep his place in the Test team, although making him captain would appear to be placing unnecessary pressure on him whilst his Test future is still uncertain.

Rassie van der Dussen has shown great leadership qualities ever since he made his Proteas debut in October 2018. But he is still making his way in Test cricket, having only played four matches.

The Proteas do, however, have a ready-made candidate to take over the captaincy from Du Plessis, even if it is just as a stand-in for a couple of seasons. Dean Elgar is established in the Test team, having scored 3888 runs in 63 matches at the solid average of 38.49, considering South Africa is the toughest place to open the batting.

The 33-year-old Elgar is highly respected in the changeroom, especially for his indomitable qualities, and has openly put his name in the hat for the captaincy. Plus he has done the job before – leading the team against England at Lord’s in 2017 and to victory over Pakistan in Johannesburg in January 2019.

With South African cricket in such turmoil at the moment and the Proteas languishing in a woeful eighth place in the ICC World Test Championship, now is the time for stability and not gambling.

A concession made by the Sri Lankan government which allows their team to quarantine for just three days upon their return to the island has played an integral part in their Test series against the Proteas over the festive season being able to go ahead.

When England left these shores blaming breaches of the bio-bubble for their own players’ unwillingness to play the ODI series and then promptly announced that their first Test in Sri Lanka would commence on January 14, there were grave concerns that Sri Lanka would pull the plug on the tour to South Africa. With the New Years Test at the Wanderers only scheduled to end on January 7, that would leave them less than a week to return home and quarantine before taking on the notoriously finicky English.

But The Citizen has learnt that the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports of Sri Lanka, Honourable Namal Rajapaksa, has granted the team permission, because they are going from one bubble into another, to only quarantine for three days, enabling them to honour their commitments to both South Africa and England.

Cricket South Africa director of cricket Graeme Smith said although he could not comment specifically on Sri Lanka’s return policy, “we have been instructed to test on certain days towards the end of the series for their return to Sri Lanka”.

Discussions with their sports ministry and an assessment conducted by Sri Lanka Cricket’s medical unit headed by Professor Arjuna de Silva, saw SLC gain approval for the tour, which starts with the Boxing Day Test at Centurion from December 26.

Sri Lanka coach Mickey Arthur, who was last in his homeland as coach of Pakistan two years ago, will leave for South Africa ahead of the team, along with a health specialist, to further assess the situation and make all necessary arrangements for the team’s arrival.