South Africa has turned to spin for the second Test against West Indies at the Wanderers starting here Wednesday, drafting left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj and Simon Harmer into the final XI.
The experienced slow bowlers will join fast bowling all-rounder Wiaan Mulder and batsman Ryan Rickelton as the four changes to the team from the first Test which South Africa won by 87 runs at SuperSport Park in Centurion.
Fast bowler Anrich Nortje is out injured while fellow seamer Marco Jansen, along with left-arm spinning all-rounder Senuran Muthusamy and batsman Keegan Petersen, have been omitted.
“In the last year, the spinners have come into the game here. If the game goes to days four and five, our spinners will play a big part,” said Proteas coach Shukri Conrad.
“It looks an abrasive surface. The one end will be more seamer-friendly than the other. We feel the wicket will offer quite a bit for the spinners.”
Maharaj, 33, played the last of his 48 Tests against Australia last January and has taken 155 wickets at an average of 32.
He grabbed nine wickets in two Tests against West Indies, on the tour of the Caribbean two years ago.
Harmer, 34, has played only nine Tests since his debut eight years ago and like Maharaj, last featured for South Africa last January against the Australians.
The 25-year-old Mulder has played 11 Tests – two of these coming against West Indies in 2021 when he struggled with both bat and ball, despite his side’s dominance in the series.
Rickelton, meanwhile, a 26-year-old left-hander, played his only three Tests last year without much fanfare but struck a hundred in his last first-class outing last month.
“You want to be consistent with selections and reward performance but you can only select 11 players,” Conrad said.
“Ryan is definitely one that will be a big part of the side going forward. Knowing the character he is, he is someone we can build our Test side around. This is not a once-off opportunity, I think he is going to have a long test career.”
West Indies were undermined by pace in Centurion, seamer Kagiso Rabada claiming a six-wicket haul in the second innings and Nortje picking up five wickets in the first innings.
SOUTH AFRICA – Temba Bavuma (captain), Dean Elgar, Aiden Markram, Tony de Zorzi, Ryan Rickelton, Heinrich Klaasen, Wiaan Mulder, Simon Harmer, Keshav Maharaj, Gerald Coetzee, Kagiso Rabada.
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