a day ago
Two more debutants as Proteas go in search of series win in Bulawayo
The first call Senokwane made after being told he would start on Sunday was to his mother Eunice. 'She's been with me through everything, she's seen everything, it was special to let her know that her investment went into something. She was happy to know her son was going to make his debut for SA,' said Senokwane.
It was similar for Subrayen, who at 31, has had to battle through various trials and tribulations — including a suspension for a suspect action in 2015. But he's become one of the craftiest bowlers at domestic level and last summer was the second highest wicket taker in Four Day Series.
In the recent series between SA A and the West Indies A, Subrayen claimed a second innings five-wicket haul to help the South Africans to an innings and 88-run victory.
'I've been through ups and downs, but they have shaped me as a cricketer,' said Subrayen.
The Proteas made three changes to the team that won the first Test by 328 runs, also at the Queen Sports Club last week. Senokwane replaces Matthew Breetzke, who made 13 and one in the first Test, while Subrayen replaces Kwena Maphaka, who struggled with his rhythm and failed to pick up a wicket. Senuran Muthusamy makes his first appearance since last October against Bangladesh, as a replacement for the injured Keshav Maharaj.
Mulder, who is captaining the side after Maharaj picked up a groin strain last week, said he didn't expect conditions in Bulawayo to change much from what they were in the first Test — which SA won comprehensively. 'There is less moisture than last week, and picking the two spinners is for longevity,' said Mulder. 'If you look at how the pitch played, it flattened out quite nicely and having two options, an off-spinner in Subs and a left arm spinner in Sen covers all the bases, along with the three seamers.'
Mulder expects Tony de Zorzi and David Bedingham to bounce back after the pair struggled in the first Test. Both made first innings ducks and then they were dismissed in the 30s in the second innings, while appearing well set.
'Those guys are run-scorers, if you know them, their characters, the only way to keep their spot is to get runs. Both of them, when their backs are against the wall, will stand up. It's exciting to see them hungry. There were a couple of hard conversations, as a team and they have a point to prove,' said Mulder.
Despite dominating last week, Mulder said the Proteas would not be taking Zimbabwe lightly.
'We know how tough Zimbabwe can be to beat. We don't think we are going to just walk through them in the second game.'
