Proteas swing the axe as ‘Rolls-Royce’ Rabada firms for return against Australia

Gqeberha: South Africa have swung the selection axe, dropping Tristan Stubbs and taking the wicket-keeping gloves away from Kyle Verreynne, as they consider recalling spearhead Kagiso Rabada for the second Test on Sunday.

Stubbs and Verreynne were both exposed by Australia in the opening Test of the series, losing their wickets at key times in both innings as the hosts were guilty of poor shot selection under sustained pressure from Pat Cummins and company.

In particular, Stubbs’ drive at a tempter from Cummins and Verreynne’s vague dab to edge Matt Renshaw to slip were critical moments in the fourth innings as the Proteas tried desperately to scramble for a draw.

Ryan Rickelton, who also had a poor game opening the batting, will move into the wicket-keeping role, with the possibility of moving back down the batting order.

South African coach Shukri Conrad has included Matthew Breetzke in the 17-man squad, after he clattered a hundred against Australia in the ODI series that presaged the Tests. Breetzke has a top score of 13 from two Tests, one each against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.

“That his ODI form is as hot as it is gave him an inside lane, and more importantly the attitude and the character Matt has will go a long way,” Conrad said.

“With ‘Ricks’ taking the gloves, there are decisions to be made whether he does move down the order or he can continue opening the batting.

“We’ll have a look at what the conditions are like – the weather forecast isn’t great for day one. So [there’s] a few things to consider before we look at that final 11. We’ve had an opportunity to lick our wounds and make sure we turn the ship in the right direction now.”

Rabada will train later on Thursday, and is firming to return to the home side’s 11 following his recovery from a hamstring tear. With his high pace, skill and fire, Rabada is arguably South Africa’s best chance of finding a way back into the series.

They will be heartened by the fact that they beat Australia in Test matches at St George’s Park, in the town formerly known as Port Elizabeth, on each of the previous two tours in 2014 and 2018.

“It’s going to sound like an excuse,” Conrad said of Rabada. “But when your Rolls-Royce of fast bowlers is not available, and you’ve got to fashion an attack … Hopefully, our Rolls-Royce will be purring down the highway.”

Conrad has also pointed out that the South African batsmen will need to show greater perseverance to stay in the middle, having been taught a lesson by Matt Renshaw at Kingsmead.

“We keep talking about the batting because that’s where we felt we let ourselves down the most. Dismissals in batting sit in one of three places – they are technical, tactical or mental,” Conrad said.

“If we’re brutally honest, a lot of our dismissals sat in the mental corner. Is that an easier fix than technical and tactical? Probably not. So we need to see our guys pull up fresh enough.

“Aiden [Markram] showed us in the second innings that there’s nothing fancy about Test match cricket. That single-bloody-mindedness, where I’ve got to bat for a day and a half now, irrespective of what it looks like – some of our batters can take a leaf from his book.”

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