JJ Smuts withdrawn from South Africa ‘A’ squad with thump injury

Top order batsman Jon-Jon Smuts has been withdrawn from the South Africa ‘A’ squad currently taking part in the triangular series against India ‘A’ and Afghanistan ‘A’ in Pretoria due to a thump injury.

The Warriors batsman was taken for scans during the two wickets win over India “A’ on Wednesday in the opening match of the series and he has been diagnosed with a fractured thumb and coach Shukri Conrad said there will be no replacement.

The withdrawal of Smuts allowed Conrad to promote Cobras all-rounder Dane Paterson to number three as they tried to play aggressive brand of cricket.

“Losing Jon-Jon (Smuts) didn’t make it any easier‚ but not for one minute did I think we were going to cruise there‚ it was always going to be a tough assignment. I as a coach‚ am reasonably happy and hopefully they can continue in that trend‚” said Conrad.

South Africa ‘A’ play their second match of the series against Afghanistan on Sunday at University of Pretoria and Conrad is excited to see how his side will execute some of the lessons from the first match.

“For starters‚ we need to make sure that we don’t underestimate the opposition‚” Conrad went on.

“Not that our focus is ever about the opposition‚ it’s about the standards and the excellence that we want to set for ourselves. Sometimes not knowing what to expect is a good thing because it frees you up and you’re forced to play what’s in front of you.”

“We’re gonna look to keep building on what we want to do and the type of cricket that we want to play. There’s still a lot of work to be done and if we keep following those processes then I’m sure it will result in a lot more wins.

We’re still searching for that perfect game and we know we’re up against some good opposition‚ but I’m sure that the confidence that win brings will kick us on in this competition.”