Proteas expect a trial by spin against Pakistan as they kick off WTC defence

The Proteas begin the defence of their World Test Championship (WTC) crown on Sunday when the first of two Test matches against Pakistan commences in Lahore.

South Africa expect a trial by spin across the series, with the second match to be played in Rawalpindi, a five-hour journey north from Lahore.

There are three spinners in the Proteas’ ranks, with Simon Harmer, Senuran Muthusamy and Prenelan Subrayen looking to extract turn out of the expected dust and rough marks.

“They’re all quite different,” stand-in skipper Aiden Markram said about his spin-bowling options. “You look at the two off-spinners to start with, Simon and Subs (Subrayen), in my opinion, it’s two completely different challenges they throw at you.

“That’s something great to have as a squad.”

Muthusamy, meanwhile, covers the left-arm finger spin role usually occupied by Keshav Maharaj. The latter was ruled out of the first Test match after sustaining a groin injury, but is currently in action for the Dolphins, in the domestic four-day competition, in a bid to prove his match fitness in time for the second Test.

“You don’t really want similar types of spinners and Sen (Muthusamy) proved it in Bangladesh, where it spun as well and he did a massive roll for us there.

“They are each quite different, different paces, different types of spin in terms of side spin and overspin which reacts differently off the wicket.

“They’ll play a massive role for us there if what we’re expecting is going to be the case.”

Spinning frenzy

South Africa will have no warm-up match in Pakistan but go straight into the series. To simulate the expected conditions in the country as well as possible, they turned a few of the pitches at the High Performance Centre into ragged turners.

“If it’s your home game, you can pretty much prepare whatever wicket you’d like to prepare. That’s how I see it,” Markram said about the conditions the team expects.

Test cricket had a hiatus in Pakistan between 2008 and 2019. While it was initially rank turners in the early years after Test cricket’s return in the country, after a while the pitches prepared were unconventionally flat and fast for the subcontinent.

But that all changed again last year when Pakistan did everything in its power to enable the wickets to start spinning again, including using fans and heaters to change the condition of the pitch.

This was after they went down 1-0 to England in the first match on a flat deck then ramped up the conditions to their favour and came back to win the series 2-1.

“If it’s going to be extreme like it was in the English series, then it’s going to be difficult for both teams from a batting point of view,” Markram explained.

“For us as a squad, we’ve just got to be happy with what we have, whatever the conditions look like and to back whoever it is on the day to get the job done. I’m not too fussed by it.”

Batting swaps

South Africa have therefore taken a horse-for-course approach in their squad selection, with Markram hinting that the inexperienced Dewald Brevis could be a straight swap for injured captain Temba Bavuma.

Brevis has had a relatively slow start to his Test career (compared with the shorter formats) but has displayed an aptitude for batting against spin bowling.

“He’d definitely be an option, especially with the way he plays spin,” Markram said.

“If the conditions are going to be exaggerated and he can quickly change the momentum of the game doing what he does and playing the way he does, then I think he’ll be a definite consideration.”

The other option to replace Bavuma is southpaw Tony de Zorzi, whose highest Test score came against Bangladesh in similar conditions in that country last year when he struck 177 in Chattogram.

“You have guys like Tony as well coming back,” Markram said. “He played incredibly well in Bangladesh, scoring big runs there, where it was also quite challenging.

“I don’t think it’s necessarily a dead-given straight swap, but I’m very sure he’ll be in the conversations.”

WTC campaign

That 2-0 series win over Bangladesh last year was South Africa’s first on the subcontinent in a decade. They now have an opportunity to secure two more in straight succession, with a series against India to follow straight after the Pakistan tour.

In Markram’s eyes it will also put to bed any doubt about South Africa’s WTC victory credibility, which some have claimed given the team’s path to the final – having not tackled India away or played against England and Australia.

“It will be two massive challenges,” the stand-in skipper said. “It would send a little bit of a statement if we had two successful tours.

“As a team, you want to be challenged and play the best in their conditions. I feel that’s what’s ahead for us these next two to three months.” DM