With the final of the World Test Championship on the horizon – the game is set to be played at Lords, against Australia, between 11 and 15 June – the exact make-up of the starting eleven is already being speculated.
Coach Shukri Conrad has already named his squad, but given the startling lack of Test cricket for South Africa since the start of the year, it’s hard to know who will start.
Most of the squad have been involved in franchise tournaments like SA20 and IPL, while some have been playing county cricket.
Let’s start by looking at the bowlers to see which options have been included in the squad, and try to work out who is likely to get the nod to start.
Conrad has already said that Aiden Markram and Ryan Rickelton will open the batting (after Rickelton’s double ton against Pakistan in the New Year Test at Newlands).
While Rickelton can keep wicket, it is unlikely that Kyle Verreynne will miss out, which means there are five spaces available for bowlers on match day eleven. There are eight options in the squad – let’s take a look and see who is likely to play and who will get to carry drinks.
The sure things
Kagiso Rabada: He has been a naughty boy since he last played for South Africa, but not so naughty that his punishment has resulted in missing this critical game. Having missed out on a month’s worth of IPL cricket, Rabada is back playing in India and getting overs under his belt.
He may not have played Test cricket since January, but he is South Africa’s premier quick bowler and one of the best produced in this country. With 327 Test wickets at an average of 22, he is a banker and a genuinely world-class option.
Marco Jansen: Surely the next big thing in the world of fast bowling, Jansen is emerging as the complete package. He is fast and tall and, possibly the most exciting bit of all, he is left-handed.
He is the Proteas something different. He is also more than handy with the bat, and while he isn’t quite Jacques Kallis level yet, he already boasts a highest Test score of 84 to go with his 73 wickets.
Jansen must surely get the nod to play as he gives the attack the variation that it thrives on. He currently boasts an average of 21.76 per wicket at the exceptional strike rate of 37,4 (the third best of all time for bowlers with more than 50 wickets).
The spinners
Aiden Markram aside, who can do a job with his tweakers, there are two spinners in the mix, Keshav Maharaj and Senuran Muthusamy.
As much as Muthusamy is a talented player, there is surely only one spinner who is going to get the nod for this critical game, and that has to be Maharaj.
Accurate and with the ability to generate real turn, Maharaj has played a key role in getting the Proteas into this final.
Rabada aside, he is the leading wicket-taker in the squad with 198 scalps at an average of 29,7.
There will almost certainly be a spinner in the mix and, fitness permitting, it is hard to see Maharaj getting overlooked.
The allrounder
Wiaan Mulder: The role of the number three batsman in this team is an interesting one. There is talk that Tony de Zorzi may be redeployed there, while in September last year, Conrad seemed to have decided that Tristan Stubbs was the man for the position.
Then Wiaan Mulder got a chance to come in at first wicket, and he didn’t do badly. In announcing the squad, Conrad was full of praise for Mulder, saying: “Wiaan batting at number three was not an experiment, I don’t think. He is technically sound enough to bat in that position. I know, not so long ago, I said Tristan Stubbs was perfect for number three, but it’s a work in progress…”
Mulder at three gives the Proteas a wonderful balance. If he can score runs and take wickets from that position, in the same way that the great Kallis once did with such success, it gives captain Temba Bavuma extra options, as long as Mulder does indeed hold his own with the bat. It’s a good bet that he will bat three and play the role of fifth bowler.
The tough choice
We are now left with three players vying for one spot. Dane Paterson, Corbin Bosch and Lungi Ngidi – they all offer something a little different…
Corbin Bosch: Probably the quickest of the three and also the best with the bat. Bosch, who has been around a long time, suddenly emerged from the shadows at the tail-end of 2024 with stellar performances for both the ODI and Test teams.
In his three innings for South Africa across all formats, he has been just once. In Tests, he averages 81 with the bat and 23.40 per wicket with the ball. Those are impressive numbers, but then he has only played one Test.
Bosch is a good option, but in a game like this it’s likely that Conrad will opt for somebody with more experience.
Lungi Ngidi: The burly quick has played in 19 Tests and taken 55 wickets at an average of 23.14. That is some pretty good going, and when he is fit, he can be a handful.
He is physically imposing and aggressive, and while he may lack metronomic consistency, he makes up for it by bowling unplayable deliveries every so often. He has a strike-rate of 44.5, which, while not quite Rabada level, is still excellent – it is better than former stars like Shaun Pollock, Morne Morkel, Fanie de Villiers and Andre Nel.
Ngidi’s biggest issue is his tendency to get injured. His last Test for South Africa was in August 2024 against the West Indies, and it has taken him seven years to play 19 Tests. It might be too much of a risk to go for him, and in such a crucial game, Conrad is likely to opt for somebody more reliable.
Dane Paterson: Which brings us to Dane Paterson. Experienced, reliable and consistent. He’s not the tallest. He’s not the fastest. He doesn’t capture the imagination like a Dale Steyn or a Rabada. But he gets the job done. He wasn’t the most popular selection when he was brought back into the Proteas side in 2024, and at 36 years old, he is not the future of SA cricket, but he can land the ball in the right place, to generate swing and to take wickets.
The perfect bowling attack should have a right-arm quick and a left-arm quick. It should have a spinner, and it should have a reliable first-change bowler. An all-rounder as part of the mix is the coup de grâce. Right now, Paterson is that reliable first-change bowler. With 25 wickets from seven Tests (including two five-wicket hauls) at an average of 26.24, we are backing Paterson to play in the WTC final.
Our predicted team
- Aiden Markram
- Ryan Rickelton
- Wiaan Mulder
- Temba Bavuma
- Tristan Stubbs
- David Bedingham
- Kyle Verryne
- Marco Jansen
- Keshav Maharaj
- Kagiso Rabada
- Dane Paterson
