Cape Cobras opening batsman Pieter Malan will make his Proteas Test debut at Newlands against England.
Coach Mark Boucher confirmed as much after opening batsman Aiden Markram was ruled out for the rest of the series after suffering a finger injury in the first Test.
With Keegan Petersen roped in as Markram’s squad replacement, Boucher will resist the urge to bring in fit-again middle-order batsman Temba Bavuma and play with a makeshift opener.
Ahead of the match which starts on Friday, Boucher says: “Pieter Malan was selected in the squad as a top-order batsman and I think for us to go messing around with the opening position wouldn’t be clever.
“He’s done a lot of good work over a long period of time and has scored a lot of hundreds, so he knows his game very well.
“We’re swinging towards having a swap for an opening batsman.”
PLAYING IT SAFE: Mark Boucher. Picture: Christiaan Kotze/BackpagePix.
Malan has been one of the standout performers for the Cape Cobras in recent seasons.
He finished 2017/18 as the third-highest run-scorer in the domestic 4-Day competition.
With 892 runs at an average of 55.75 in 10 matches, he scored four hundreds and two fifties - a healthy conversion rate, meaning once he gets going he scores big runs.
In 2018/19, he again finished third overall with similar stats (821 runs at an average of 51.31), proving he is consistent.
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While he hasn’t reached the same heights in the four matches to date this year (199 runs at 33.16), the 30-year-old will be hoping that he can hit form in front of his home fans in the Proteas’ colours.