JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, CMC – South Africa have rested beanpole left-arm all-rounder Marco Jansen, but they have named uncapped batsman Matthew Breetzke as the only completely new face in their 16-member squad for a two-Test series on the Tour of the Caribbean next month.
Red-ball head coach Shukri Conrad said Jansen was rested given the hectic schedules that he has kept over the past two months going straight from the Indian Premier League to the ICC Men’s Twenty20 World Cup, and now Major League Cricket in the United States.
“The decision to rest Marco Jansen was taken to allow for a conditioning period aimed at ensuring optimal physical and mental well-being given the season-long workloads,” Conrad said in a Cricket South Africa news release announcing the squad.
Tearaway fast bowler Anrich Nortje is also missing from the South Africa line-up after he turned down a central contract to focus primarily on the shortest format of the sport, Twenty20.
Breetzke, 25, received his maiden Test call after impressing in the South Africa first-class championship last season, and he also led South Africa “A” in a four-day match against India “A” last December.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Ryan Rickelton returns to the squad for the first time since South Africa hosted the same opponents in March last year.
The two-Test series, which is part of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC), will be the first for South Africa since they sent a makeshift side on the Tour of New Zealand in February because of a clash with their domestic franchise Twenty20 tournament, SA20.
Only three members of that squad – batsman David Bedingham, pacer Dane Paterson, and spinner Dane Piedt – were retained from that squad, and several regulars have returned, including Test captain Temba Bavuma and T20 World Cup captain Aiden Markram.
South Africa are seventh place in the WTC standings, but they have played only four matches, and have eight more scheduled in this cycle, and Conrad said they have high hopes of making use of all them, including against West Indies.
“We are looking forward to returning to Test cricket after a busy period of limited-overs cricket over the past few months,” he said.
“This Tour is extremely important for us as we aim to improve our standing in the ICC World Test Championship. We have, therefore, selected our strongest possible squad and look forward to strong performances in the Caribbean.”
After a four-day warm-up match against a Cricket West Indies Invitational XI, starting on July 31 at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba, Trinidad, the South Africans meet West Indies in the first Test, starting on August 7 at the Queen’s Park Oval in the Trinidad capital of Port of Spain before travelling to Guyana for the second Test, starting on August 15 at the Guyana National Stadium.
Squad:
Temba Bavuma (captain), David Bedingham, Matthew Breetzke, Nandre Burger, Gerald Coetzee, Tony de Zorzi, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Dane Paterson, Dane Piedt, Kagiso Rabada, Tristan Stubbs, Ryan Rickelton, Kyle Verreynne.