A very different South African team from the one that beat Zimbabwe in the first two Standard Bank limited-overs matches will take the field at St George’s Park on Wednesday for the third and last match.
South Africa barely raised a sweat in winning the first two matches by huge margins, and with the series in the bag, the selectors have seized the opportunity to rest some senior players, and bring other players back into the squad.
South Africa’s premier bowler, Shaun Pollock, has been rested for the entire series and Makhaya Ntini played only in the first match. The two toiled long and hard throughout the England tour, and the selectors decided to give them a break and an opportunity to iron out any niggles ahead of what is expected to be an arduous tour of the West Indies.
South African captain Graeme Smith has returned to Cape Town for treatment to his left ankle, which was injured when a taxi drove over his foot during South Africa’s tour of India in 2004.
Smith said before the start of the Zimbabwe tour that the ankle is still troubling him.
”I had to have cortisone injections throughout the England tour,” he said, ”and sometimes I am in a lot of pain from my ankle.”
It is not clear whether Smith might need surgery to repair the damage.
”I’m not sure what the problem is,” he said, ”but I really want to avoid the knife if I can. I hope it doesn’t come to that.”
AB de Villiers, who carried the drinks in the first two matches against Zimbabwe, returns to the team to open the batting with Adam Bacher, and vice-captain Nicky Boje will take over the captaincy of the team, becoming the seventh person to captain South Africa in limited-overs cricket.
Monde Zondeki, who last played for South Africa in the World Cup in 2003, returns to the side for Wednesday’s match.
”Monde has fully recovered from injury, and although he did not play any Standard Bank Cup matches this season, his performances for the Warriors in first-class cricket suggest that he is ready to take the next step up,” said the convener of selectors, Haroon Lorgat. ”Wednesday should give us a good idea of what progress he has made.”
Andre Nel and Andrew Hall, who played in the first two matches, have been released to play for their franchises in this weekend’s round of Supersport matches.
Zimbabwe, who have looked woefully inexperienced, will be boosted by the return of their former captain, Heath Streak, who was scheduled to arrive in South Africa in time to play in the third limited-overs match.
Streak last week signed a new contract with the Zimbabwe Cricket Union, after a dispute lasting almost a year over selection policies.
But although Streak has been playing club cricket in Zimbabwe, he will be somewhat rusty and short of match practice when he takes to the field on Wednesday. — Sapa
South Africa: Adam Bacher, AB de Villiers, Jacques Rudolph, Herschelle Gibbs, Ashwell Prince, Justin Kemp, Albie Morkel, Mark Boucher, Nicky Boje (captain), Charl Langeveldt, Monde Zondeki.
Zimbabwe (from): Tatenda Taibu (captain), Hamilton Masakadza, Stuart Masikenyeri, Barney Rogers, Brendan Taylor, Elton Chigumbura, Alester Maregwede, Douglas Hondo, Tinashe Panyangara, Christopher Mpofu, Tawanda Mupariwa, Prosper Utseya, Heath Streak, Gavin Ewing, Sean Williams.