South Africa vs New Zealand, 1st Test: Likely XI for Proteas

South Africa welcome New Zealand for a two-Test series, with the first Test scheduled to be played on Friday at Kingsmead, Durban. Regular skipper AB de Villiers is out injured, and as a result Faf du Plessis will take charge of the Proteas for the very first time in Tests. New Zealand on the other hand, are coming off a series win against Zimbabwe will be confident of putting up a good show. South Africa last played Test cricket at home against England, and they ended up losing that series. South Africa have a lot to prove in this series. Let us have a look at who they might field for the first Test. Full Cricket Scorecard: south Africa vs New Zealand, 1st Test at Durban

Top-order: Dean Elgar had a good outing against England, finishing with 284 runs in his seven innings, which included a century as well. He was one of the better South African players, even on the tour to India as well. He will be entrusted to open along with Stephen Cook, who had a dream debut. Cook made 115 on his debut innings at Centurion as South Africa registered a consolatory win against England. This series will perhaps be the one, where he cements his pace in the team. At No. 3 will be the ever-dependent Hashim Amla. Amla resigned as captain midway through the series against England, and he will be keen to continue his prolific form with the bat.

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Middle-order: Stand-in skipper du Plessis will walk in at No. 4, will be under immense pressure to perform, after a poor run in the previous two series against India and England. The captaincy may put extra pressure on him or he could thrive on it and score big. JP Duminy, Temba Bavuma and wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock will fill up the remaining three slots in the middle-order. Duminy will have to get all his experience into play. He has been in and out of the team, but this series could be the chance to cement his place. Added to his batting, he is very handy with his off-spin as well. READ: SA vs NZ: Black Caps look to continue playing attacking brand of cricket

Bowlers: Chris Morris will play the role of the all-rounder. He has been effective with the bat in his brief career so far, and will be entrusted to pick up crucial wickets as well. South Africa’s cricketer of the year, Kagiso Rabada has been in excellent form with the ball and may get to open the bowling with Dale Steyn, who will look to get back to his best in the series. It will be a toss up between Vernon Philander and off-spinner Dane Piedt for the final spot. Philander has been extremely good in home conditions and his partnership with Steyn could turn out to be crucial. South Africa have Piedt, if they wish to have some variation, but the having Philander and Steyn bowl in tandem is an interesting prospect.

South Africa’s likely XI: Dean Elgar, Stephen Cook, Hashim Amla, Faf Du Plessis (c), JP Duminy, Temba Bavuma , Quinton de Kock (wk), Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada, Dale Steyn,  Vernon Philander/ Dane Piedt

(Pramod Ananth is a reporter at CricketCountry.com. He is a sport enthusiast and a keen observer of cricket, the contests, and its personalities. When not tracking cricket, he follows the world’s soccer leagues and is somewhat partial towards Liverpool. His Twitter handle is @pramz)