The Proteas lost the toss and have been sent in to bat in the three-day tour match against the England Lions at New Road in Worcester on Thursday.
Vernon Philander is unavailable for the match, but continues to make satisfactory progress following the right ankle injury sustained while playing for Sussex County Cricket Club two weeks ago.
Proteas team manager, Dr Mohammed Moosajee commented on the injury: “Vernon is in the final stages of his rehab following the injury to his right ankle ago weeks ago. He is building on to bowl at full pace by the end of the week to prove his availability for selection for the first Test match against England at Lord’s next week.”
Bad light and drizzle delayed the start of the match by 30 minutes.
South Africa XI
Heino Kuhn, Dean Elgar (captain), Hashim Amla, JP Duminy, Temba Bavuma, Theunis de Bruyn, Quinton de Kock (wk), Chris Morris, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Morné Morkel.
Proteas Test Squad
Faf du Plessis (captain), Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Theunis de Bruyn, Quinton de Kock, JP Duminy, Dean Elgar, Heino Kuhn, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Duanne Olivier, Andile Phehlukwayo, Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada.
Tour Itinerary
1st Test – 6-10 July – Lord’s, London
2nd Test – 14-18 July – Trent Bridge, Nottingham
3rd Test – 27-31 July – The Oval, London
4th Test – 4-8 August – Old Trafford, Manchester