South Africa’s stand-in skipper Faf du Plessis said he and the selectors were seriously considering making changes to the Proteas starting team for the second Sunfoil Test against New Zealand starting Saturday.
Speaking at SuperSport Park on Friday, Du Plessis, said that because conditions at the venue were very much an unknown factor, the selectors would consider all their options for what is the deciding match of the two game series.
“We’re looking at different combinations, whether that is; playing an all-rounder, an extra seamer or an all seam attack with no spinner,” said Du Plessis.
This is the first time a Test has been played in August at this venue and no one, not Du Plessis who has played most of his cricket at Supersport Park, nor the groundsman is certain of what to expect.
“The pitch looks a touch on the soft side and it’s a bit moist. We’re not quite sure what to expect, it might be a bit slow.”
Du Plessis was full of praise for the work done on the outfield by ground staff. A special covering of grass was planted in April, giving the outfield an unusually green look for this time of year in Gauteng. “It’s not the brown or yellow that you’d expect at this time of the year. It’s in the best condition that I’ve ever seen it,” he added.
Following last week’s rained out Test in Durban, when the umpires deemed the Kingsmead outfield as being unfit for play, the players will be delighted that five days of sun have been forecast for the match.
Du Plessis said the South Africans had learned from the errors they made in Durban and will be aiming to execute better, particularly with the bat at SuperSport Park. “Most of our guys got in, but didn’t turn their starts into big scores. We needed one guy to score a hundred and that would have ensured a big first innings lead and we could have controlled the game better.
“The positive we can take out of it is that we’re all in good touch, so we must just take advantage of that,” said Du Plessis.
South Africa has an outstanding record at SuperSport Park winning 16 of the 21 Tests played there and losing just two. “We’ve got the confidence going into the match, that we play well on this ground and we trust that. - Independent Media