Published: Dec 31, 2015, 04:23 PM (IST)
Edited: Dec 31, 2015, 04:23 PM (IST)
After the injury to their premier fast bowler Dale Steyn, South Africa face another setback as Kyle Abbott might miss out on the second Test with an injury on his left hamstring. Hardus Viljoen has been called as cover for Abbott. “With a short turnaround between the first and second Tests, we’ve included Hardus in the squad as a precautionary measure to cover all our bases,” convener of selectors Linda Zondi said, according to espncricinfo. Vilhoen has picked up 295 wickets from 73 First-Class matches and has also been in terrific form of late, picking up as many as 20 wickets in the two rounds of matches in the ongoing First-Class competition in South Africa. . Full cricket scorecard: South Africa vs England 2015-16, 2nd Test at Cape Town
Abbott bowled over 45 overs in the Durban Test. He also had to make up for overs that Steyn could not bowl in the second innings,. Steyn had left the field for scans on his shoulder after bowling just 19 deliveries in the second innings. It was up tp Morne Morkel and Abbott to make up for the loss of Steyn. READ: Hashim Amla will be under pressure in 2nd Test after big loss in South Africa vs England 2015-16, 1st Test
England beat South Africa in the first Test by 241 runs and have taken a 1-0 lead in the series. England scored a modest 303 in their first innings, but barring an unbeaten century from opener Dean Elgar, nobody in the Proteas line-up got any substantial score and as a result the hosts conceded a 89-run first innings lead. England then scored 326 in their second innings with Jonathan Bairstow top-scoring with a 76-ball 79. South Africa were therefore set a target of 416 to win the match. READ: Hashim Amla: Not scoring the runs has been South Africa’s Achilles’ heel
It was Elgar once again, who top-scored with 40 as South Africa lost the match by runs. They will want to bounce back in the second match, which begins on January 2, 2016.
