Matthew Breetzke earns maiden Test call-up for West Indies series, Marco Jansen, Anrich Nortje misses

Matthew Breetzke, deemed Dean Elgar’s replacement in the South Africa Test side earned his maiden call-up for the series against West Indies. The 25-year-old represented Northants and was part of the South A side that toured Sri Lanka in 2023. He has played 55 List A games in his career and scored 1445 runs at an average of 28.90. He has already played T20I cricket and knows what it takes to succeed in international cricket.

Meanwhile, David Bedingham, Dane Paterson and Dane Piedt are the only players featured in the New Zealand series who made it to the squad against West Indies. All the red-ball players decided to take a break from the away series against the Black Caps to focus on SA20. However, Bedingham, Paterson and Piedt among 12 others sacrificed the SA20 contract to focus on red-ball cricket.

Among bowlers, Marco Jansen and Anrich Nortje will miss the series. Nortje has been dropped after he decided to opt out from CSA’s central contract, to focus on T20 cricket. On the other hand, Jansen has rested as coach Shukri Conrad confirmed. He mentioned that the all-rounder has been given a break to manage his workload.

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“The decision to rest Marco Jansen was taken to allow for a conditioning period aimed at ensuring optimal physical and mental well-being given the season-long workloads,” Conrad said in a statement.

We aim to improve our standing in the ICC World Test Championship: Conrad

Furthermore, Shukri Conrad also talked about the importance of the series against West Indies. South Africa are currently seventh on the World Test Championship points table with 25% win to their name. The Test head coach added that they have named the strongest possible team to get the job done in the Caribbean and get back into the race.

Also Read: World Test Championship points table

“This tour is extremely important for us as we aim to improve our standing in the ICC World Test Championship. We have, therefore, selected our strongest possible squad and look forward to strong performances in the Caribbean,” Conrad added.

South Africa Test squad for West Indies series:

Temba Bavuma (c), David Bedingham, Matthew Breetzke, Nandre Burger, Gerald Coetzee, Tony de Zorzi, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Dane Paterson, Dane Piedt, Kagiso Rabada, Tristan Stubbs, Ryan Rickelton, Kyle Verreynne.