The Proteas team is considering using a doosra attack, but coach Shukri Conrad emphasized that he will not insist on creating a specific spinning surface at the Kingsmead stadium.
Australian Tour to South Africa
Proteas spinner Simon Harmer showed a very successful performance during the tour of India and may be included in the preliminary squad for the opening Test match against Australia, which will take place at Kingsmead. Although Kingsmead has long lost its reputation as a pitch conducive to ball spin, Proteas coach Shukri Conrad does not intend to put additional pressure on stadium staff to create a specific trajectory of spin for the first match against Australia, scheduled for October 9th.
The Proteas fast bowling attack is seriously weakened: four leading players—Kgosi Rabada, Lungie Ngidi, Ottniel Bartman, and Kwena Maphaka—are suffering from hamstring injuries. Rabada is included in the preliminary list of 18 players, but his participation in the match looks doubtful. Due to the possible absence of a primary fast bowler, Conrad has formed a squad including spinners Keshav Maharaj, Simon Harmer, and Senurana Mutusami.
This trio of spinners demonstrated huge success in the year-end tours in Pakistan and India last year, allowing Proteas to break a 20-year dry spell in the subcontinent. Their potential inclusion in the starting Test XI may also be due to the fact that Australian batsmen are struggling against Maharaj and Bjorn Fortuin in the current ODI series.
Nevertheless, Conrad insisted that regardless of the final eleven composition, he would not interfere with the pitch preparation for the first Test. He noted: 'I think it's natural, someone might say: 'Well, maybe they will make it spinny because they have two strong spinners—Harmer and Maharaj.' But if your next question is whether I will ask the ground keeper or curator to create a special wicket for spinners, then I can say no. I never tell or instruct stadium staff to make wickets in a certain way.'
The selection panel for the South African men's team announced a preliminary squad of 18 players for the first Dafabet Test match against Australia, which will take place from October 9th to 13th at the Hollywoodbets Kingsmead stadium in Durban. Despite the crisis in the fast bowling department and the conditions, Conrad admitted that including possibly two specialized spinners has always been under consideration against the Australians.
He added: 'We have always planned to use the threat of doosra bowling, even if we are not at the peak of this hamstring pandemic. So it was always a plan. And based on that plan, we should have felt there were some weaknesses, you know. And that was identified. So yes, glad we guessed correctly again.' However, he clarified that everything depends on the conditions and the players' physical fitness. 'And based on what conditions arise—obviously, what the weather will be before the Test match—if two of them are two of the best out of four or five bowlers who, in our opinion, can win us the Test match, I will not rule it out.'
Furthermore, the Proteas mentor did not want to dwell too much on Australia's weaknesses against spin in the current ODI series, as the Australian squad for the Test will be significantly strengthened by players such as Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne. He concluded: 'If we feel this is the path we can take, then it is certainly the path we will take, but it is not based on what happened in the last two ODIs, because I believe the Australian batting lineup in the Test match is very different from what we saw in the last two ODIs.'
