SKRIK VIR NIKS: Bavuma
The Proteas will look to wys their pace on the first day of their first Test against Sri Lanka at Kingsmead today at 10am.
Captain Temba Bavuma, never really shy to reveal his hands before a match, on Tuesday named South Africa’s team for the match.
Speaking in his pre-match conference from Kingsmead, the returning SA skipper haaked af when asked about the team selection: “The openers will be Aiden [Markram], Tony [de Zorzi], then it will be Stubbo [Tristan Stubbs], myself [Bavuma], Bedders [David Beddingham], Kyle Verreynne, Wiaan Mulder, Marco [Jansen], Gerald [Coetzee], KG [Rabada] and Keshav [Maharaj].”
With Rabada, Jansen, Coetzee and Mulder as the fast bowlers and Maharaj as the spinner, Bavuma says they will also druk op die nommer of Markram if they need an extra spinner in the clash.
The match, meanwhile, is a must-win for SA if they are to remain alive in the ICC Test Championship.
With the top two teams competing in the final, India are currently first with a percentage of 61.11 points won of the overall points that were available in their matches, Australia second with an average of 57.69, Sri Lanka third with 55.56, New Zealand fourth with 54.55 and SA in fifth on 54.17.
Because teams don’t play the same amount of matches and with 12 points on offer per game – the points system is calculated on an average of points scored out of 12 per match.
In this case, SA have 52 points out of a possible 96 (eight matches) to give them an average of 54.17. Winning all four of their remaining matches will give them a good shot at making the final.