Dwaine Pretorius‚ Lutho Sipamla and Raynard van Tonder added to Proteas Test squad
Cricket South Africa (CSA) has included Dwaine Pretorius and uncapped Raynard van Tonder and Lutho Sipamla to the Proteas squad for the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka.
SA take on Sri Lanka‚ who arrives in the country on Saturday morning‚ in the Boxing Day and the New Year’s Tests at SuperSport Park in Centurion and the Wanderers in Johannesburg respectively.
In a statement on Friday‚ CSA explained that the inclusion of the trio forms part of the organisation’s plan to integrate more players at the conclusion of the latest round of the CSA 4-Day Cup.
Pretorius has been capped by the Proteas in all formats and Sipamla has only represented South Africa in T20s and ODIs while the South Africa U19s captain Van Tonder is yet to play for senior national team.
Van Tonder has been exceptional with the bat during the 4-Day Cup and he is the top run scorer of the competition so far with 604 in five matches at an average of 67.11.
The 22-year-old notched up a career-best double ton (261 balls) for the Knights in their match against the Lions just this week.
That‚ coupled with the two centuries and half-century already in his tally for the competition‚ makes for an exciting talent and addition to the national team.
Pretorius has made great progress from the hamstring injury he picked up last month just before the start of the England tour.
He would have completed the last step of the CSA Return to Play protocol by playing in the now postponed round of the 4-Day Cup and will instead work closely with the team’s medical staff and coaches to ensure that he is Test match-ready.
In other notable news from the Proteas camp‚ premier fast Kagiso Rabada has not yet been medically cleared to play and the team assemble in Pretoria on Saturday to begin preparation for the Boxing Day Test.
Proteas Test squad against Sri Lanka: Quinton de Kock (captain‚ Titans)‚ Temba Bavuma (Lions)‚ Aiden Markram (Titans)‚ Faf du Plessis (Titans)‚ Beuran Hendricks (Lions)‚ Dean Elgar (Titans)‚ Keshav Maharaj (Dolphins)‚ Lungi Ngidi (Titans)‚ Rassie van der Dussen (Lions)‚ Sarel Erwee (Dolphins)‚ Anrich Nortje (Warriors)‚ Glenton Stuurman (Warriors)‚ Wiaan Mulder (Lions)‚ Keegan Petersen (Dolphins)‚ Kyle Verreynne (Cape Cobras)‚ Migael Pretorius (Knights)‚ Dwaine Pretorius (Lions)‚ Lutho Sipamla (Lions)‚ Raynard van Tonder (Knights)