Ken Borland

Proteas captain Dean Elgar said on Monday that he has made peace with the four players who are not available for the Test series against Bangladesh because they are in India for the IPL, and he has full confidence in their replacements ahead of the first match starting on Thursday in Durban.

Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen, Rassie van der Dussen and Aiden Markram will all be missing from the team that drew the series in New Zealand. Pace bowlers Anrich Nortje and Lungi Ngidi are also in India.

Keegan Petersen was always likely to return at the expense of probably Markram, while Ryan Rickelton is in line to make his long-awaited debut.

On the bowling front, Lizaad Williams, Glenton Stuurman and Duanne Olivier are the potential replacements for Rabada and Jansen.

“A lot of events have happened lately and I’m pretty comfortable where I sit with the players that are not here,” Elgar said. “I’ve had in-detail chats with all of them, to find out mentally where they are in terms of Test cricket versus the IPL.

“The players were put in a pretty unavoidable position due to the No Objection Certificates and agreements between the BCCI and CSA. No rash decisions were made and I know where they stand.

“But we can’t lick our wounds for too long and I’m very comfortable making do with the next best players, I’m confident they will cover all the bases.

“We’ve lost a few caps, but it’s a great opportunity for the new players to put the unavailable ones under pressure,” Elgar said.

The Test captain was also left in the lurch by the poor performances in the ODI series, which have allowed Bangladesh to take tremendous momentum into the Tests. Elgar said it was clear from the ODIs that Bangladesh now have the apposite skills and attitude for South African conditions.

“The ODI result really hurt, even for me and I wasn’t involved in it. Hopefully that has fuelled us a bit more and our hunger to do well will be right up there.

“Bangladesh are a new-look team and their coaches have obviously changed their mindset about how to play in South Africa. I think it’s going to be a good contest and we’ll need to nail down our basics.

“We are known to start series quite poorly, it’s always a talking point and I’ve emphasised it a lot with the team. I’m not sure what the reason for it is, but by making the players aware of it and trying to avoid it, that gives us the best chance to win the series.

“We need to find a way to not start poorly because it’s just a two-match series. I’m trying my utmost to get the message across that we need to start well,” Elgar said.

Sarel Erwee will head to the Hagley Oval in Christchurch next Thursday feeling he is on the verge of being dished up something he has waited a long time for.

And no, it is not a creamy prawn pasta, his favourite meal, at one of the Italian restaurants that surround Hagley Park, to break the monotony of room service in their MIQ hotel.

Instead, it could be a long-awaited Test debut for the 32-year-old as he replaces Keegan Petersen, who most unfortunately had to miss the tour to New Zealand due to a positive Covid test. Proteas captain Dean Elgar recommended the left-handed Erwee as the fill-in No.3 batsman for the second time on Thursday.

“Sarel has been part and parcel of the squad for over a year now, so he’s maybe the favourite to come in,” Elgar said. “Zubayr Hamza has also scored a lot of runs for SA A, so I would say it’s between those two.

“Sarel is a great team man, he’s rolled a lot of energy into his 12^th man duties, he’s earned respect, and if there is a pecking order than I would think he’s next in line.”

Erwee’s batting is stuffed with the same sort of determination and solid defence as his captain. The son of a formidable Natal rugby centre, he is not a small man either and brings a certain presence to the crease.

It will be a tough introduction to international cricket for the Pietermaritzburg product. New Zealand have tended to run rings around their opposition at the Hagley Oval, losing just one of their 10 Tests there. They have been in rampant form in their last four games there – beating Bangladesh and Pakistan by an innings, India by seven wickets and Sri Lanka by 423 runs.

“Their attack may be a little down on pace compared to India’s, but they execute their skills perfectly and use their home conditions to the full,” Elgar said.

“Hagley Oval is known for its pace and bounce, it’s the quickest venue in the country and we know they are going to come out all guns blazing.”

Whatever the final starting XI that gets sent through to CSA by the selectors, the facts of the matter are it is going to be an intense two-Test series. Much like against India, there are going to be frustrations for the Proteas to adapt to on and off the field.

And the Black Caps, the world Test champions, will come hard.

“It’s a bit disappointing that we don’t get to play them a lot because I’ve loved the series I’ve had against them,” Elgar said. “They are fierce competitors who have played brilliant cricket of late.

“It’s going to be a great test for us against a team that is at their peak at the moment. We have a great rivalry with New Zealand.

“The competitiveness of matches against them has been right up there with some of the best. They are a fearsome side and we both play with a lot of pride,” Elgar said.

St Lucia, the venue for the Proteas’ first Test against the West Indies starting on Thursday, is a typically beautiful tropical island but it also has very unpredictable weather.

As pace bowler Lungi Ngidi said on Tuesday: “It’s tricky conditions, similar to Durban in terms of humidity and heat, but it’s also very windy and the overhead conditions seem to change every 30 minutes. It goes from scorching heat to pouring rain very quickly and you never know what to expect.”

So what must the Proteas do to ensure the first Test in the two-match series goes well for them?

*Make every moment count: The three previous Tests played at Gros Islet in June have all ended in draws, and they have all been interrupted at crucial times by rain. St Lucia is heading into its wet season now and, as the Proteas have already discovered, the rain can be pretty intense. There will always be high temperatures and humidity though, and, being an island stuck out practically in the Atlantic ocean, the north-easterly trade winds are strong and consistent. So everything the Proteas do, whether with bat or ball, is going to have to be done with some urgency. They cannot allow the West Indians to settle into their groove.

*Slip in the short ball often: Although the pitch at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium is not as quick as the Wanderers or SuperSport Park, it is not nearly as sleepy as so many of the Caribbean tracks. As Ngidi has noted, there is bounce on offer, so the Proteas fast bowlers must definitely slip in the odd bouncer just to keep the batsmen on their toes.

*Consider swing as a weapon: While bowling coach Charl Langeveldt likened the conditions to England and there will certainly be seam movement, the old Beausejour Stadium is famous for being a venue where swing is on offer. While every paceman will probably allege they are a swing bowler as well, Rabada, Nortje and Ngidi are not known for moving the ball sideways through the air much. Left-armer Beuran Hendricks is probably the best swing bowler in the squad, but playing him would mean leaving out a spinner or batting Keshav Maharaj at seven, neither of which is likely. It’s why Wiaan Mulder is tipped to play as an all-rounder.

*The batsmen must use the friendly amenities: For all the talk about what will assist the bowlers, the Gros Islet pitch also offers friendly amenities for batsmen. The Proteas don’t have to worry about there being much turn, even in the closing stages, although inconsistent bounce could become a feature towards the end of the game. It will certainly be desirable for South Africa to put big runs on the scoreboard in the first innings.