The Proteas are sweating on the fitness of Vernon Philander as they look to avoid a series loss to Sri Lanka.
The ace seamer is struggling with a hamstring problem he picked up in the shock one-wicket loss at the weekend in Durban, where he bowled just 18 overs.
And the Proteas management are weighing up their options ahead of Thursday’s second and final Test in Port Elizabeth.
However disappointing Philander’s injury might be, it may just be a blessing in disguise for the hosts.
Going into the Durban clash, the Proteas picked a five-man bowling attack with Philander alongside Dale Steyn, Kagiso Rabada and Duanne Olivier in the seam department and spinner Keshav Maharaj.
That meant that SA sacrificed a batsman.
And that gamble backfired big time as their top order collapsed in both innings, as the Proteas posted mediocre totals of 235 and 259 all out.
The selectors have batsmen Zubayr Hamza, Theunis de Bruyn and 20-year-old allrounder Wiaan Mulder to call on should Big Vern fail to recover.
Cape laaitie Hamza will be looking to add to his 41 Test runs after making debut in the final clash with Pakistan last month.
But Mulder is being touted as the next big thing in South African cricket and could bring balance to the side as a fast-medium bowling option.
More importantly, he is a natural in the troublesome No.7 spot.
The last time he batted there he scored 145 for the Lions in the recent 4-Day Series.