Proteas back their pace attack to blow away Sri Lanka at Durban’s Kingsmead

Temba Bavuma of South Africa during the day 3 of the 2nd Test match between West Indies and South Africa at Guyana National Stadium on August 17, 2024 in Georgetown, Guyana. (Photo by Daniel Prentice/Gallo Images)

By Keanan Hemmonsbey

26 Nov 2024

South Africa have gone with a four-prong pace attack in their opening Test match of the home summer against Sri Lanka.

The Proteas have opted to head into their first home Test match of the summer with a pace heavy attack against Sri Lanka at Kingsmead Stadium in Durban, starting on Wednesday.

Kingsmead Stadium has traditionally been one of the most spin-friendly pitches in South Africa, nonetheless, the Proteas have selected Kagiso Rabada, Gerald Coetzee, Marco Jansen and Wiaan Mulder while Keshav Maharaj will look to hold up an end with his left-arm orthodox spin.

Proteas cricket Proteas bowler Kagiso Rabada (left) in action during the second day of the first Test cricket match between Bangladesh and South Africa at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 22 October 2024. (Photo: Tanvin Tamim / AFP)

This was confirmed by returning Proteas skipper Temba Bavuma, who has recovered from an elbow injury to retake the reins of the team.

“From a seam point of view we are quite confident in the guys that we’ve selected,” the captain said to journalists on Tuesday. “From a spin point of view, if there is a need for a second spinner, we do have Aiden as well.”

“Looking at the wicket, if it does spin, it will probably be at the end of the game. Considering the weather, we think the seamers will come into play.

“We’re quite confident in our bowling pack.”

Gloomy weather with sporadic rain is scheduled for Wednesday in Durban which should assist the pace attack while there is a strong possibility that the final day, on Sunday will also see rain.

tristan stubbs west indies Tristan Stubbs of South Africa drives for four on day two of the first Test against West Indies at Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain, Trinidad And Tobago, on 8 August 2024. (Photo: Daniel Prentice / Gallo Images / Getty Images)

The selection of both Jansen and Mulder, batting at eight and seven, means the side will bat quite deep. The top-six, as confirmed by Bavuma, will be regular openers Aiden Markram and Tony de Zorzi, followed by Tristan Stubbs, who has made the number three position his own.

Bavuma will come in at No. 4, followed by David Bedingham and Kyle Verreynne as the wicketkeeper.

Pace challenge

Sri Lanka have a strong batting lineup, led by Kamindu Mendis. They’re currently third on the World Test Championship standings behind only India and Australia.

Proteas Sri Lanka batter Kamindu Mendis bats during the second Test against England at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London on 30 August. Photo: Stu Forster/Getty Images

Whether South Africa’s fast-bowling onslaught can blow them away remains to be seen but it will be a mighty challenge for the subcontinent side.

“Looking at the Test cycle and how Sri Lanka have performed, if they are vulnerable against fast-bowling then they wouldn’t be third on the log,” Bavuma said.

“It’s a team that has performed very well and they’ve done so in different conditions.

“From their side, in terms of preparation, fast bowling will be a thing.

“Playing against South Africa in South Africa, that’s always a challenge but I’m sure they will be back their preparation to ensure they will have answers to that challenge.

“They’ve been playing very good cricket and we know we have to be at our best.

Durban is a happy hunting ground for Sri Lanka, having beaten the hosts there in 2019 before travelling to Gqeberha to beat them there, securing the first win by a subcontinent side in the country.

South Africa, though, are up for the challenge, with the stakes of a spot in the World Test Championship final up for grabs with success in their next two series’.

“I believe the team is as ready as it can be,” Bavuma said. “We had a good camp last week.

“There is a lot of excitement amongst the group, with four games left in our Test Championship, every game is as important as the final will be.”

“The guys are ready and excited. I’m excited to be back within the team again and we should be seeing some good stuff from the guys.”

Expectation

South Africa’s series win against West Indies and their 2-0 win in Bangladesh, their first win in the subcontinent since 2014, has created an expectancy for the team to get over the hurdle that is Sri Lanka and then Pakistan to get into the final of the World Test Championship.

But according to Bavuma, that is only noise from outside the team camp, while the players remain focused on the task at hand, which is each ball of the upcoming match in Durban.

“The expectation and the pressure is something that has come from outside of the team,” he said.

“What we have spoken about is to keep looking inward. We understand what has brought us results, albeit it’s only been for a short period.

“But we want to concentrate and focus on that as much as we can. We know what we’d like to achieve as a team, we know we are getting closer to what we want to achieve.

“The old adage remains that we’ll take it game by game, session by session and we let everything else take care of itself.” DM

The first ball will be bowled at 9.30am on Wednesday at Kingsmead Cricket Stadium.

Proteas team to face Sri Lanka in Durban:

Aiden Markam, Tony de Zorzi, Tristan Stubbs, Temba Bavuma (captain), David Bedingham, Kyle Verreynne (wicketkeeper), Wiaan Mulder, Marco Jansen, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada.

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Proteas team to face Sri Lanka in Durban: