Faf du Plessis confirmed on Thursday that Temba Bavuma will come in for Zubayr Hamza in the final Test against England at the Wanderers.
Bavuma was sent back to domestic cricket to gain form and in his second game for the Lions scored a massive 180.
READ: Temba Bavuma strikes back
With the Proteas’ batting lineup struggling to find runs, the obvious decision was to bring in the in-form Bavuma.
Whether dropping Zubayr Hamza for him instead of playing an extra batsman is the correct decision will remain to be seen.
Bavuma’s inclusion, however, is not a direct replacement for the 24-year-old. Du Plessis also confirmed that Rassie van der Dussen will bat at No 3.
“I can tell you that Temba is back in the side,” Du Plessis told media at the Wanderers on Thursday.
“The rest, we are still waiting to see what the weather does tomorrow. We don’t have 100% clarity on that yet, but that is the one thing that is definite.
“When you’re deep in a series already, the extra time in the nets is not going to make much difference. The challenge for us as a team is how strong we are mentally,” Du Plessis added.
“We know where we have been poor in our gameplans. We haven’t scored enough runs in our first innings and that’s a basic of Test cricket.”
Check out what Du Plessis had to say in his full press conference:
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