JOHANNESBURG – Marco Jansen was added to the Proteas Test squad just hours before the team’s departure for Karachi on Friday, after Ottniel Baartman had to withdraw for “medical reasons.”
Cricket South Africa stated on Friday that Baartman’s withdrawal was not related to coronavirus. The tour to Pakistan is the first by a South African team in 14 years. The Proteas will face Pakistan in two Tests and three T20 Internationals
The players all underwent Covid tests on Tuesday and again on Thursday with all of them cleared.
As was the case for Baartman, it is Jansen’s first call up to the national team, and probably comes ahead of time for him. At 20 he certainly has a lot of potential and is possessed of all physical attributes that would suggest success in the professional ranks.
Jansen, a tall left-arm seamer, has been one of the outstanding performers in the Four-Day Series this season, picking up 21 wickets for the Warriors at an average of 20.71.
With left-arm seamers such valuable commodities, Jansen, whose twin brother Duan is on the books of the Knights, has been on Cricket SA’s high performance radar for a couple of seasons, but it was hoped that he might be allowed a little more room to develop at domestic level.
However, because of Covid hurdles and the need for extended squads, he finds himself thrust into the international arena, earlier than he would have anticipated.
He may not be the only one. Cricket SA’s selectors must name a T20 squad early next week, which is expected to include a host of new names for the three T20 matches in Pakistan. That is because a big chunk of the Test squad will return to South Africa immediately after the completion of the second Test in Rawalpindi on February 8, to start quarantine ahead of the three Test series against Australia, which is scheduled to take place in SA from the end of February.
"It won't be our strongest team because the emphasis is on Test cricket against Australia, rightly so. It might be a watered-down T20 team," Proteas head coach Mark Boucher said this week.
“At the start of the season, I alluded to the fact that we are going to have to use a lot of players. This is an opportunity for guys to put their hands up. We haven't played a lot of cricket, there haven't been a lot of (SA) A tours and even though it's not ideal to throw guys into the deep end and make them play international cricket when they are maybe not ready, there are not many other choices at the moment. Some will be pushed into the deep end and we will see how they respond."
SA Test squad.
Quinton de Kock (capt), Temba Bavuma, Aiden Markram, Faf du Plessis, Dean Elgar, Kagiso Rabada, Dwaine Pretorius, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Rassie van der Dussen, Anrich Nortje, Wiaan Mulder, Lutho Sipamla, Beuran Hendricks, Kyle Verreynne, Sarel Erwee, Keegan Petersen, Tabraiz Shamsi, George Linde, Daryn Dupavillon, Marco Jansen
South Africa tour to Pakistan schedule
26-30 January: 1st Test, Karachi
4-8 February: 2nd Test, Rawalpindi
11 February: 1st T20I, Lahore
13 February: 2nd T20I, Lahore