Russell Domingo will for the moment put the selection headache he faces over the make-up of the South African attack for the first Test at the Waca on the back-burner, to concentrate on preparing the players and assessing form.
One aspect about which the coach is clear - South Africa won’t be starting with four seamers and a frontline spinner in that first Test in Perth.
South Africa left for Adelaide Sunday night, where preparations will begin for a three-match series against Australia, which includes a first day/night Test for the Proteas at the Adelaide Oval.
In the short term the composition of the attack for the Waca will provide Domingo and the selectors with an intriguing conundrum. “The batting line-up is pretty established, the big decision will be whether to play four seamers or a spinner and then when you make that decision which spinner to play, because they are both in good form at the moment,” he said.
South Africa have five frontline seam bowling options; Dale Steyn, Kagiso Rabada, Morne Morkel, Kyle Abbott and Vernon Philander in the 16-man squad. Tabraiz Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj are the spin options.
“Leading into the Test we’ll have to assess how guys are going in the warm-up games, what type of spinner we are looking for and which four seamers, if we choose four, we go with. There’s a lot to consider. The batting line-up is established, but there are a few options among the bowlers.”
But four seamers and a frontline spinner is not an option Domingo favours. “I’ve not thought about that much,” he murmured. “Five bowlers always seems a little bit much, particularly with a couple of guys in the top order who can bowl some spin.
“My focus in the next couple of days is purely on our preparation, I’m not even thinking about the Test, it’s still two weeks away, and there’s a lot of work to be done before then.”
South Africa will get an immediate feel for conditions under the Adelaide Oval lights when the team plays a two-day warm-up match against an Invitation XI this weekend. “We’ve got that match, and then another in Melbourne just before the Test, so that’s four days with the pink ball under lights in similar conditions which will benefit us massively,” said Domingo.
Captain Faf du Plessis said the side would draw a lot of confidence from the success in the recent five-match ODI series, but there was a clear understanding that the Test series will be a much harder challenge.
“Expectations will be that we go over there and dominate Australia again, but that’s not going to be the case.
“It’s a clean slate, we’ve had an amazing series, a highlight for many of us. But we go to Australia now, (it’s like a) blank paper, we must prepare well, train hard and make sure we compete in every aspect of the game. They are a quality team, but we are also playing some quality cricket at the moment.”
SA squad
Dean Elgar, Stephen Cook, Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis (capt), JP Duminy, Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock, Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Rilee Rossouw, Kyle Abbott, Keshav Maharaj, Tabraiz Shamsi, Dane Vilas.
Tour schedule
October
22-23 v Cricket Australia Invitation XI, Adelaide Oval (day/night)
27-28 v South Australia Invitation XI, Glenelg
November
3-7 First Test, Perth
12-16 Second Test, Hobart
19-20 v Victoria, Melbourne Cricket Ground (day/night)
24-28 Third Test, Adelaide (day/night)
The Star