TUESDAY, 3.30PM:
JONATHAN OPPENHEIMER will captain the Nicky Oppenheimer XI to face Pakistan in their opening tour match of South Africa, starting January 29. Pakistan’s tour of more than a month will include three Tests against the South African national squad.
The opening match of the tour will be played at Oppenheimer’s Randjesfontein Oval, where Fanie de Villiers, Richard Snell, Neil Johnson and Clive Eksteen will tackle the Pakistani batsmen, while Boeta Dippenaar, Neil McKenzie, Dale Benkenstein, Johnson and Loots Bosman will face down the bowlers.
Langeveldt and Bosman made successful provincial debuts at the end of last year and are in this year’s Plascon Academy intake.
Benkenstein, tipped to be the next South African captain, led SA’s A team to great victories over the West Indies recently.
The NFO XI is: Jonathan Oppenheimer (capt), Boeta Dippenaar, Dale Benkenstein, Neil McKenzie, Neil Johnson, Loots Bosman, Richard Snell, Clive Eksteen, Fanie de Villiers, James Teeger and Charl Langeveld.