Two uncapped in SA 1st Test squad

South Africa continued to rennovate its lineup, as two new faces were named in the 13-man squad for the upcoming first Test against England. The South Africans, who recently returned from a 1-0 defeat in India, will feature Dale Steyn and Abraham de Villiers as the new men.

The 20-year-old de Villiers has played 16 First Class matches and has scored 1246 runs at a healthy average of 44.50, with a couple of centuries. He plays with capacity as a wicketkeeper, but Thami Tsolekile is presumed to be the favoured gloveman at the moment, as Mark Boucher has been ignored yet again.

Steyn, 21 years old, is a fast-medium prospect and has taken 26 First Class wickets in his 7 matches to date, with a best and lone 5-wicket haul of 5/30.

Veteran opener Herschelle Gibbs and talented pacer Andre Nel have been excluded from the squad, as they are still recovering from injury. Nico Boje features as the only spinner in the squad, ahead of Robin Peterson and Justin Ontong, but will have to pass a fitness test before he is a approved to play, due to a growth on his neck.

South Africa 1st Test squad:

GC Smith (C)
JH Kallis
AJ Hall
M Ntini
SM Pollock
HH Dippenaar
TL Tsolekile (wk)
Z de Bruyn
N Boje
DW Steyn
AB de Villiers
JA Rudolph
AM Amla


Posted by Liam