Quinton de Kock commenced his Test captaincy tenure by losing the toss with Sri Lankan counterpart, Dimuth Karunaratne, opting to bat first in the first Test in Centurion on Saturday morning.
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It’s an interesting decision given the distinctly green tinge to the SuperSport Park wicket, though the Islanders could be confident of seeing off an inexperienced South African bowling attack that hasn’t exactly been playing a lot of red-ball cricket lately.
Eye-catchingly, 22-year-old Lutho Sipamla will make his debut, with Warriors seamer Glenton Stuurman suffering from a niggle after he was fancied to fulfil a Vernon Philander type role.
Sipamla didn’t cover himself in glory during the recent T20 series against England, but is highly rated by national coach, Mark Boucher, and did well in four-day cricket last season, capturing 24 wickets at 24.62.
He’s played 10 limited overs matches to date for the Proteas.
In the batting order, Wiaan Mulder cracks a nod as the designated all-rounder in the side.
Following a rash of injuries over the past year or so, the Highveld Lions batting all-rounder has played himself back into the national consciousness with some fine performances with the bat – notably a hundred and a ninety in this last four-day match – and has been bowling steadily.
Rassie van der Dussen will fill the all-important No 3 position in the batting order.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka have handed a debut to burly leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga.
Proteas:
Aiden Markram, Dean Elgar, Rassie van der Dussen, Faf du Plessis, Quinton de Kock (captain and w/k), Temba Bavuma, Wiaan Mulder, Anrich Nortje, Keshav Maharaj, Lutho Sipamla, Lungi Ngidi
Sri Lanka:
Dimuth Karunaratne (captain), Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka, Niroshan Dickwella (w/k), Wanindu Hasaranga, Vishwa Fernando, Kasun Ranjitha, Lahiru Kumara
