SOUTH Africa are into the second and final day of their Test camp at the Centre of Excellence in Pretoria today as they prepare to right their wrongs against the visiting Sri Lanka next week.
Sri Lanka remain the only Asian or sub-continent Test team who have won a series on South African soil, having whitewashed the Faf du Plessis-led Proteas 2-0 five years ago.
The visitors have brought back seven of the players that were involved in that famous series triumph, and when they step over the ropes in the first Test at Kingsmead in Durban next Wednesday, they will be reminded of the special achievement they pulled off against a strong South African squad.
With the second Test scheduled for St George’s Park in Gqeberha from December 5, the ground where Sri Lanka stunned the world in 2019, there will be belief that anything is possible.
For the Proteas, the return to those two grounds against this Sri Lanka team will be all about redemption against a side that inflicted one of the most embarrassing series defeats in the history of South African cricket.
Red-ball head coach Shukri Conrad has today announced a 14-player squad for the upcoming two-match Test series against Sri Lanka, which gets underway in Durban later this month.
— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) November 19, 2024
Captain Temba Bavuma will lead the side after being cleared for selection following a fitness test on… pic.twitter.com/MuUhVjqb4q
Most importantly, the two sides are in contention for the World Test Championship final, with Sri Lanka currently placed third on the standings and in need of just a single win in South Africa before they finish their cycle with a two-match series at home against Australia.
On the other hand, Shukri Conrad’s Proteas sit in fifth place on the log, and need three victories out of the four matches left in their cycle.
With the first two being against Sri Lanka and the last two against Pakistan on Boxing Day in Centurion and January 3 at Newlands, South Africa will not want to leave it to the end to secure a spot in the final at Lord’s next year.
A series sweep against Sri Lanka would ease the pressure on the home side and is possible, given the team’s recent series victories away in the Caribbean and Bangladesh.
Mzansi, brace yourselves for test cricketing action coming to our shores, as the Proteas take on Sri Lanka in an explosive 2-match Test Series 🇿🇦vs🇱🇰!
The stakes couldn’t be higher, as both nations look to gain ground in the World Test Cricket rankings to make the final next… pic.twitter.com/HUrf8PUcC2
However, Sri Lanka are fresh from whitewashing New Zealand at home, the same Black Caps team that went on to embarrass India with a shocking 3-0 series sweep on the sub-continent as they became the first team to win a Test series in that country in over a decade.
Moreover, in realising that the Proteas are in top form for the first time in a while in Test cricket, Sri Lanka have added former SA batter Neil McKenzie as a consultant for the series.
The visitors have been in South Africa for over a week acclimatising as they prepare for what will be their most important series in this cycle.
Sri Lanka are well equipped for the SA conditions, as they were five years ago, with Vishwa Fernando and Kasun Rajitha leading the bowling attack, while former captain Dimuth Karunaratne, current skipper Dhananjaya de Silva and the experienced Angelo Mathews leading the batting group.
South Africa will need to keep that group quiet to stand a chance of winning the series, but fit-again captain Temba Bavuma and his team should also keep an eye out on new talents such as Pathum Nissanka and Kamindu Mendis, who both have had great starts to their Test careers.
The returning Bavuma will need to lead from the front, while the out-of-form Aiden Markram and the rest of the Proteas leadership group will also need to stand up with the bat and ball.