South Africa select spin twins for final Test as they look to seal series against West Indies
- Nasri Alexander
- 7 March 2023
Keshav Maharaj and Simon Harmer will form a double spin attack for South Africa in the second Test against the West Indies at the Wanderers starting on Wednesday.
Proteas Test coach Shukri Conrad confirmed the starting XI on Tuesday that includes a total of four changes from the first Test that the hosts won by 87 runs in Centurion.
Maharaj and Harmer both sat out in the first match of the series as Senuran Muthusamy was preferred as the spin allrounder, batting at number seven, with four pacemen selected.
Fast bowler Anrich Nortje has since been ruled out due to a groin injury while lanky left-arm seamer Marco Jansen is being rested, according to Conrad.
The Wanderers pitch, known for a long time to favour the quick bowlers, has aided the slow-bowlers in domestic first-class matches in the last couple of years.
Harmer returned match figures of 14-150 for the Titans in a 10-wicket win against the Lions this season while Maharaj took 6-126 and 7-48 for the Dolphins in 2021.
Seam-bowling all-rounder Wiaan Mulder replaces Muthusamy while on the batting front Ryan Rickelton returns to the middle-order with Keegan Petersen dropping out.
While happy to kick off his tenure as Test coach with a victory, Conrad was not particularly happy about the performance in the first Test, especially the batters.
Opener Aiden Markram scored 115 in the first innings but the Proteas suffered a major batting collapse to post 342 before being skittled for just 116 the second time of asking.
Conrad said: "We got a good result in Centurion, but truth be told we weren't particularly good. The wicket was tough, but that doesn't mean we just roll over as we did the other day and have done in the past.
"We might be a little bit away on the batting front, which is no secret, but we are not a million miles away. We have the personnel, it's just to ensure they get the necessary experience."
South Africa starting XI for 2nd Test against West Indies: Aiden Markram, Dean Elgar, Tony de Zorzi, Temba Bavuma (captain), Ryan Rickelton, Heinrich Klaasen, Wiaan Mulder, Keshav Maharaj, Simon Harmer, Gerald Coetzee, Kagiso Rabada
