/ 13 July 2009

South Africa names provisional squad for Champions Trophy

Cricket South Africa on Monday named a provisional squad of 20 players for the ICC Champions Trophy tournament to be held in South Africa in September.

The squad will be reduced to a final squad of 15 closer to the start of the tournament.

The squad consists of the 15 players who did duty in the ICC World Twenty20 in England in June as well as Hashim Amla, Charl Langeveldt, Makhaya Ntini, Lonwabo Tsotsobe and Vaughn van Jaarsveld.

”It is a very good squad and it will be quite difficult to reduce it to the final 15,” said selection convener Mike Procter.

”Charl Langeveldt is no longer a Kolpak player and is again available for selection. He has recently undergone shoulder surgery and we will have to see how well he comes through that.

”The news on Graeme Smith’s elbow surgery is extremely positive at this stage while Lonwabo Tsotsobe has made a good recovery from the knee surgery he had earlier in the year. We will be able to monitor his form as well as that of Vaughn van Jaarsveld on the Emerging Tour of Australia later this month.

”Hashim Amla, Herschelle Gibbs and Wayne Parnell are all playing county cricket at present but will return home in good time to prepare for the tournament.”

ODI provisional squad:
Graeme Smith (capt), Johan Botha (vice-capt), Yusuf Abdulla, Hashim Amla, Mark Boucher, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis, Charl Langeveldt, Albie Morkel, Morne Morkel, Makhaya Ntini, Justin Ontong, Wayne Parnell, Robin Peterson, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Roelof van der Merwe, Vaughn van Jaarsveld.