PORT ELIZABETH - Proteas captain AB de Villiers won the toss and elected to bowl upon his return to One-Day International cricket in the series opener against Sri Lanka at a windswept St George’s Park on Saturday.
Along with De Villiers inclusion, South Africa also welcomed back Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis, JP Duminy and Kagiso Rabada after they all missed the T20 series defeat to the Sri Lankans.
All-rounder Chris Morris also makes a comeback after a six-month injury layoff and was preferred to left-arm spinner Tabraiz Shamsi. Imran Tahir is the sole specialist in the team that is loaded with all-rounders Morris, Wayne Parnell and Andile Phehlukwayo.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka buoyed by their historic success in the T20 series last Wednesday at Newlands have included late addition Jeffrey Vandersay to their line-up this morning.
Leg-spinner Vandersay is part of three new squad members that also include Lahiru Kumara and Vikum Sanjaya, who replaced Isuru Udana, Thikshila de Silva and Seekkuge Prasanna after the T20 series.
Teams:
South Africa: Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock (wk), Faf du Plessis, AB de Villiers (capt), JP Duminy, David Miller, Chris Morris, Wayne Parnell, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Imran Tahir.
Sri Lanka: Niroshan Dickwella, Sandun Weerakkody, Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Upul Tharanga (capt), Dhananjaya de Silva, Asela Gunaratne, Nuwan Kulasekara, Jeffrey Vandersay, Suranga Lakmal, Lakshan Sandakan.