The South African Test Squad for the Test Series against New Zealand which will be held in February 2024 is something that has enraged lovers of Test Cricket. South Africa have sent a second string squad for the 2 Text Series against New Zealand. The SA20 which kicked off on 10th January is coming in the way and the question is whether South Africa should have sent a full strength side.
Firstly let’s look at their Test Squad for the New Zealand series
South Africa Test Squad vs New Zealand Test Series
Neil Brand (C)
David Bedlingham
Ruan De Swardt
Clyde Fortuin
Zubayr Hamza
Tshepo Moreki
Mihlali Mpongwana
Duanne Oliver
Dane Paterson
Keegan Peterson
Dane Piedt
Raynard Van Tinder
Shaun Von Berg
Khaya Zondo
Talking Points from this Squad:
In this Squad half of the 14 members have yet to play a Test Match. That is a staggering fact.
Only 2 players are in this team that beat India in the first test match at Centurion.
Keegan Peterson, David Bedlingham, Zubayr Hamza and Khaya Zondo have played test cricket before.
Neil Brand will make his test cricket debut as the captain of South Africa.
The one positive will be that these Young players will have the opportunity to make a name for themselves in the toughest format of the sport and be competitive against New Zealand.
For comparison let’s look at the South Africa Squad for the series against India.
Dean Elgar (C)
Aiden Markaram
Tony De Zorzi
Tristan Stubbs
David Bedlingham
Kyle Verreynne
Marco Jansen
Keshav Maharaj
Kagiso Rabada
Nandre Burger
Lungi Ngidi
Keegan Peterson
Zubayr Hamza
Wiaan Mulder
Points to be noted in this discussion of whether South Africa disrespected Test Cricket:
11 out of the 14 from this team will not take part in the New Zealand series.
Steve Waugh who is one of the greatest test cricketers ever said that South Africa have disrespected Test Cricket and New Zealand should refuse to play them.
The fans of Test Cricket are upset as South Africa are prioritizing SA20 for the second year running. New Zealand cricket is not happy as they will have to face financial losses due to this situation.
The South African cricket board has said that they tried to reschedule the series in July but we’re unable to do so as New Zealand have a series against Australia after this one.
The South African cricket board also said that this was a one time thing and they would in the future make sure that clashes like this do not happen and Test Cricket does not have to suffer.
This move will mean that the big 3 that are India, England and Australia will be the ones that take Test Cricket the most seriously and the other nations need to show more so that Test Cricket does not become a 5-6 team sport.
The SA20 is the lifeline of South Africa cricket and it should be given importance but not at the cost of Test Cricket. There has to be a way to balance the two and co-exist.
The various T20 leagues such as the Pakistan Super League, the CPL, Sri Lankan Premier league and SA20 are taking most of the time for these teams and thus they are not able to even play 10 Test Matches a year.
