Batter Matthew Breetzke has been named in the South Africa Test squad for the upcoming two-match test series against West Indies played in August.
Matthew Breetzke added to South Africa Test Squad
CSA has named a 16-member squad for a test series for the men’s upcoming tour of the West Indies starting on August 07 in Trinidad. David Bedingham, Dane Paterson, and Dane Piedt are the players from the squad that played in the New Zealand test series in February.
Matthew Breetzke who has been a consistent performer has got his test call-up and Wicketkeeper Ryan Rickelton will be returning to the squad after featuring the in home series against West Indies in 2023 while Marco Jansen will be rested for the series.
Speaking about the squad, Conrad said, “The decision to rest Marco Jansen was taken to allow for a conditioning period aimed at ensuring optimal physical and mental well-being given the season-long workloads,” said Test Coach Shukri Conrad.
Red-ball head coach Shukri Conrad has today named a 16-player squad for the two-match Test series against West Indies, which starts on 07 August in Trinidad and Tobago.
Dafabet Warriors batter Matthew Breetzke has received his maiden Test call-up after impressing in last… pic.twitter.com/kBlTnDkugp
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“We are looking forward to returning to Test cricket after a busy period of limited-overs cricket over the past few months.
South Africa’s promising test players have not been in action since the start of this year, when they lost to India, missing the New Zealand tests due to SA20 2024 commitments.
“This tour is extremely important for us as we aim to improve our standing in the ICC World Test Championship,” Conrad said. “We have, therefore, selected our strongest possible squad and look forward to strong performances in the Caribbean. We have one new face in the squad, Matthew Breetzke, who was selected on the back of an excellent past season.
“The decision to rest Marco Jansen was taken to allow for a conditioning period aimed at ensuring optimal physical and mental well-being given the season-long workloads. Half of our squad will be part of a camp to be held in Durban next week,” concluded Conrad.
Currently, South Africa has secured seventh place in the WTC points table playing only four matches. They have 8 more tests including two in West Indies, two in Bangladesh, and home tours against Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
Some players from the squad are involved in the MLC 2024 or County Cricket. Those players who are all not involved in the domestic leagues will start the four-day training camp in urban before departing to the West Indies.
South Africa Test Squad
Temba Bavuma, David Bedingham, Matthew Breetzke, Nandre Burger, Gerald Coetzee, Tony de Zorzi, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Dane Paterson, Dane Piedt, Kagiso Rabada, Tristan Stubbs, Ryan Rickelton, Kyle Verreynne
