South Africa is scheduled to engage in a two-match Test series in New Zealand in February. Cricket South Africa (CSA) faced significant criticism for selecting a less experienced squad for the upcoming Test tour of New Zealand. A total of seven players without international experience have been selected for the upcoming two-match Test series scheduled for February.
Neil Brand, a left-handed opening batter yet to make his international debut, has been named as the captain for the tour. Among the 14 chosen players, only David Bedingham, Keegan Petersen, and Zubayr Hamza (only in the second Test) were part of South Africa’s squad in the recently concluded home Test series against India.
The two Test matches against the Blackcaps coincide with the second edition of SA20, South Africa’s primary domestic T20 competition. Key players from South Africa will be participating in the lucrative league, and the CSA has prioritized this franchise competition due to its potential to offer financial stability to the board, which has faced challenges in that aspect.
Proteas head coach Shukri Conrad has defended CSA’s choice to field a fresh team, emphasizing the significance of SA20 in the development of South African cricket.
“I love how everyone outside the country have become experts on South African cricket. Our hand has been forced, everyone understands the SA20 has to happen, it is the lifeblood of local cricket. If it doesn’t happen, we won’t have test cricket anyway,” Conrad was quoted as saying by Reuters.
CSA recently released a statement stating that they attempted to rearrange the New Zealand series to avoid conflicting with SA20. Unfortunately, the rescheduling didn’t materialize.
“It is still South Africa going to New Zealand. We sing the same national anthem and wear the same national team blazer. Anything we come back with, a draw or if we can sneak a win, that will be massive for us,” the coach said.
‘It is a sad state of affairs when you need more luck than skill to survive in a test match’ – Shukri Conrad’s comments on South Africa’s loss to India in the Cape Town Test
India levelled the two-match Test series against South Africa by winning the second Test in Cape Town by seven wickets. It became the shortest completed Test match ever by the number of balls bowled, with only 642 legal deliveries.
The pacers dominated the game on an unpredictable pitch, and no spinners delivered a single ball in the match. While congratulating India on their victory, Conrad expressed that batters required luck, not just skills, to survive on the challenging Cape Town track.
“It is a sad state of affairs when you need more luck than skill to survive in a test match. Take nothing away from India, they were superb, but you are not going to win many tests scoring 55 (in the first innings). This has come as a shock to the system, but I will not lay the blame on our playing XI,” Conrad said on the loss.
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