Proteas head coach Shukri Conrad has provided a clearer picture of how South Africa will use the coming months to build towards the 2027 ODI World Cup while simultaneously preparing players for a massive home Test summer.
With the T20I Tri-Series in Namibia completed and an ODI series against the hosts next, Conrad believes the performances of South Africa’s younger players have expanded the options available to the national selectors.
“Yeah, I think the first thing you need to acknowledge is that it’s different formats, but form is form and confidence is confidence. If the players are capable of playing in the other format, then it’s a really good space to be in, you know.
“So yeah, it makes selection difficult, but a good difficulty. Very often you’re in a happier position when you’ve got options rather than scraping the barrel and I think this last week and this week to come will expand the pool quite nicely as well and give us a few more options going forward.”
Brevis remains firmly in Conrad’s plans
One notable absentee from the 16-player squad selected for the ODI series against Australia is Dewald Brevis.
Conrad explained that players outside the Proteas and South Africa A squads will return to domestic first-class cricket, with preparation for the upcoming Test season remaining a priority.
“The plans are quite simple. Everybody that’s not here or in the A-side is going to be playing the first round of our first-class cricket and then everybody who’s not in the ODI squad will play the second round of first-class cricket.
“You know, we’ve got a massive summer coming up in Test cricket so we need to make sure that guys are ready for that.”
Brevis’ omission from the Australia series, however, should not be interpreted as him falling out of the ODI picture.
Conrad views the 22-year-old as competing for a position in South Africa’s middle order.
“So yeah, I mean, that includes Dewald and I mean, I don’t know if you want to be probing any more around the Dewald but I think Dewald competes for a spot in the middle order and there he competes with guys like Matty Breetzke, David Miller and Tristan Stubbs and as it stands right now against Australia, those are the three we’re going with.
“Dewald will definitely get a crack during the Bangladesh series and so will a few of the other guys so that when the England series comes along, I’ll have a really good idea of what that squad will start looking like, you know.
“So all part of the plan. So yeah, we want guys to be playing first-class cricket in preparation for Test series but also just to get used to playing first-class cricket again and then on the side we’re obviously looking at how we’re going to shape our squad for the World Cup.”
Four batters fighting for two positions at the top
There is also competition developing at the top of South Africa’s ODI batting order.
Aiden Markram will only be available for the second and third ODIs against Australia, with Conrad revealing that Quinton de Kock, Ryan Rickelton, Markram and Tony de Zorzi are competing for two positions.
“We’ve got six ODIs before we play England. I think England will probably be a shadow squad of the World. Will be closer to the World Cup squad and it’s just part of making sure that everybody gets a fair crack at it.
“We’ve got three or four guys vying for two spots at the top in Quinton de Kock, Ryan Rickelton, Aiden Markram and Tony de Zorzi but then again Rickelton and Tony might give us options slightly lower down.
“So it’s all just part of making sure that everybody gets a fair crack at it and it gives me a few things to play around with. So nothing too much to read into that.”
De Kock, who has made himself available for international cricket despite not holding a national contract, appears set for a significant run in the ODI side.
“I think ODI cricket is probably Quinny’s best format. So he’ll play all the ODIs, Australia and Bangladesh.
“And David will play Australia, probably miss Bangladesh because he’s got ILT20 commitments. So we do factor all of those things in and we have these conversations. But yeah, Quinny is going to play everything and David will play the Australia series and not the Bangladesh series.”
Nortje and Coetzee remain in the fast-bowling picture
Anrich Nortje was not selected for the Australia ODIs, with Conrad saying the fast bowler still needs further preparation before returning to the format.
“No, he’s not. I don’t think Anrich’s done enough in terms of getting ready for ODI cricket but I wouldn’t be too surprised if he wasn’t playing in the Bangladesh series as well.”
Gerald Coetzee, meanwhile, continues his return through the South Africa A setup after a career disrupted by injuries.
Conrad is encouraged by his progress.
“Yeah, I’d like to think that he’s over all the injuries, touch wood. He’s obviously had a good winter, played a four-day game for the A-side and was meant to play, well, got in a few overs yesterday in the rained out match.
“So he’s also on track in terms of what his build-up is going to look like. So I’m really happy where he’s at. Like I say, the first-class games with the A-side were important.
“So yeah, rearing to go and again, guys like Gerald, Anrich Nortje, express pace, and those are wonderful options to have as we build towards next year. I think you’re going to hear that phrase a lot as we build towards next year.”
Nandre Burger is another fast bowler being monitored, although he is currently sidelined through injury.
“Nandre’s injured. I think it was a stress fracture. I’m not too sure. He’s not a contracted player, but we obviously still keep tabs on the guys.
“But by all accounts, he’s going the conservative route in terms of the treatment, so no surgery. And we’re not quite sure how long that’s going to take.”
Rabada racing to be ready for Test cricket
Kagiso Rabada will miss the ODI series against Australia as he continues his rehabilitation, with no definitive decision yet on his availability for the Test series.
“He’s out of the ODIs and we’ve got him constantly monitoring his rehabilitation and I think when we do sit down to select a test squad, I think only then will we know and make an informed decision.
“But he’s tracking nicely, gathering the reports from all the physios that he’s been working with. Yeah, we’re really happy with how he’s going and look, it goes without saying, he’s a massive player. You only need to look at his record.
“So fingers crossed that all goes well and he’ll be taking the field for us. But yeah, we’ll play that and see how it pans out given his rehabilitation program and the medical reports.”
Australia provides the first major test of the summer
Before South Africa can look too far towards the World Cup, Australia awaits.
Conrad expects many members of the ODI squad to also feature in the Test setup and believes beginning the home summer strongly is important for both the players and South African supporters.
“I think apart from the fact that it might lead to obviously the confidence being up because there’s a vast majority of the guys that are in the ODI squad will be in the Test squad.
“But I think it’s more importantly, I think it’s about putting up a bold showing for our fans as well.
“They’ve been starved of cricket at home for a long time. And whilst it might not be the greatest rivalry in cricket, Australia vs South Africa is massive and irrespective of the format you play in.
“And yeah, we want to not put up a bold showing, but we want to win every series we play in. That starts with the ODI series against Australia in a couple of weeks time.”
For Conrad, the months ahead will therefore serve two purposes.
South Africa need to prepare their players for a significant Test summer while, in the background, Conrad continues to work towards identifying the group he wants for a home World Cup in 2027.
And as he acknowledged himself, it is a phrase South African cricket fans are likely to hear repeatedly over the coming months:
“As we build towards next year.”
Squad: Temba Bavuma (captain, DP World Lions), Ottneil Baartman (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Corbin Bosch (Momentum Multiply Titans), Matthew Breetzke (Dafabet Warriors), Gerald Coetzee (DP World Lions), Quinton de Kock (DP World Lions), Tony de Zorzi (YesPlay Western Province Cobras), Bjorn Fortuin (DP World Lions), Marco Jansen (Momentum Multiply Titans), Keshav Maharaj (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Kwena Maphaka (DP World Lions), Aiden Markram (Momentum Multiply Titans), David Miller (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Lungi Ngidi (Momentum Multiply Titans), Ryan Rickelton (DP World Lions), Tristan Stubbs (Dafabet Warriors).
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