Proteas coach lines up options aplenty to send out a thrilling World Test Championship XI

Daily Maverick

2 days ago

Eight players have been selected, but the balance of South Africa's side for the final is in focus after coach Shukri Conrad gave himself several choices in his squad.
South Africa's World Test Championship (WTC) final encounter against Australia is fast approaching and the Proteas squad will assemble in Arundel in the UK from Saturday before taking on Zim­babwe in a four-day warm-up match from ­Tuesday, 3 June.
Coach Shukri Conrad's selections for that game will paint a clear picture of his thoughts ahead of the match he considers the Proteas' 'biggest-ever final'.
It won't be set in stone, however, as South Africa will only arrive in London on 7 June and will then have an opportunity to assess conditions at Lord's Cricket Ground, where the final will be played.
Conrad and his brains trust, which includes skipper Temba Bavuma, will then have the opportunity to mull over a specialist spin bowler, an extra fast bowler or even an additional all-rounder, all of whom Conrad has selected in his 15-player squad as options.
There are eight players whose names are penned in for the final, including opening batters Aiden Markram and Ryan Rickelton, whom Conrad confirmed when he announced the squad a fortnight ago.
Numbers four and five in the batting order will almost certainly be occupied by Tristan Stubbs and Bavuma, respectively. They've batted there in South Africa's past six Test innings. David Bedingham is likely to bat at No 6 for the Proteas, although his Test form has been stuttering recently.
The 31-year-old is the only player to have played every match of the WTC cycle for South Africa, but he's had a lean spell. Yet with no one else knocking the door down, he is unlikely to sit out the final.
Kyle Verreynne – who has been the Proteas' first-choice gloveman throughout the current WTC cycle – will come in at seven. Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen will lead the attack with the ball.
How the other puzzle pieces form around those eight players is less clear.
Bowlers
Slow left-arm orthodox Keshav Maharaj is a near-lock for the final XI, but his inclusion depends on conditions. Maharaj has missed out in fast bowling-friendly conditions under Conrad before. He was left out for all-rounder Corbin Bosch against Pakistan in Centurion in the Boxing Day Test match last year.
The square at Lord's seems to be gripping well for spin, with Middlesex's Zafar Gohar eighth on the wicket-taking charts with 21 scalps in seven matches in the County Championship. Of those, 17 were taken at Lord's by the left-arm slow bowler.
The spot for the third seamer is also contentious, with Dane Paterson and Lungi Ngidi the choices. Paterson is a skilful medium-pace bowler with the ability to get the ball to talk off the deck, which is just about tailor-made for English conditions. The 36-year-old is also playing County Cricket in England for Middlesex – whose home ­venue is Lord's.
Ngidi's selection in the squad in the first place is slightly left-field. The tall quick hadn't played a Test match since August last year and has only played two matches in the current WTC cycle.
Where Paterson's trademark is control and seam movement, Ngidi offers extra pace and bounce, as well as the ability to swing the ball through the air. It's a toss-up for what Conrad would prefer and what the conditions dictate on the day.
Batting options
That leaves the all-important No 3 spot vacant. The last man to bat in the position for the Proteas is seam bowling all-rounder Wiaan Mulder, who has had unexceptional returns in the two innings he has batted there (scores of five and 15).
In Test cricket Mulder averages 22.65 with the willow. At this point of his career he looks better suited to batting down the order with his maiden Test century coming at No 7 against Bangladesh last year.
The other option Conrad has is Tony de Zorzi. De Zorzi has a modest Test average of 30 after 11 matches, but he is more accustomed to batting in the top three.
The southpaw's first seven innings in Test cricket were at No 3, where he averaged only 20.71 before moving to the opening slot after the retirement of Dean Elgar and then being usurped by Rickelton.
De Zorzi averaged 35 while opening the batting with two half-centuries and one century in 20 innings.
Mulder's bowling might factor in the decision-making. If Conrad opts to play De Zorzi as well as Maharaj, the Proteas will only have three fast-bowling options, which is suboptimal.
The other options are all-rounders Bosch and Senuran Muthusamy. Bosch is likely to be the option Conrad turns to if he does choose to play a four-prong pace attack and not select a spin bowler.
That would open the door for De Zorzi to bat at three while the team maintains its balance.
Muthusamy offers a better option with the bat than Maharaj with his slow left arm, but without the supreme control of the latter.
Australia's options
Reigning WTC mace holders Australia have remained a relatively consistent side over the past few years. Most of the team are established international players.
The only player not available from the side that won the 2023 WTC final against India is David Warner, who has retired.
The bowlers pick themselves, with captain Pat Cummins leading a vicious pack that includes Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon who offers his accurate off-breaks.
Usman Khawaja will open the batting but who partners him is the question. Aussie convener of selectors George Bailey has outlined Marnus Labuschagne and Sam Konstas as potentials. Konstas made his debut against India at the end of last year and scored 113 runs in the four innings he batted, but he was dropped for Australia's tour to Sri Lanka the next month.
Travis Head was paired with Khawaja on the spin-friendly decks in the subcontinent, but in England he will probably be slotted in his preferred No 5. Labuschagne averaged 28.62 over the past two seasons but his overall batting average is still the second best in the side behind Steve Smith.
All-rounder Cameron Green is also available although he would only play as a batter because a stress fracture in his back has not healed sufficiently for him to bowl. Labuschagne moving up the order would leave space for Green to slot in the middle ­order while maintaining their four bowling options, with Beau Webster providing the all-round option.
Alex Carey will take the gloves for Australia, completing the playing XI.
Both South Africa and Australia have the pieces of the puzzle for their playing XIs worked out after achieving more success than the other nations over the past two years of the WTC cycle.
The conditions at Lord's along with the intuition of those in charge will determine how those pieces come together. DM