Khaya Zondo named South Africa A captain for tour game against Australia

Cricket South Africa (CSA) has announced the 11-member squad for the upcoming warm-up fixture against the touring Australian side. The selectors have named Dolphins skipper Khaya Zondo as the captain of this side. South Africa A will be taking on the Australian side in a three-day warm-up fixture commencing on February 22.

The match will be played at the Sahara Park Willowmoore Park in Benoni. While Khaya Zondo has a fair bit of experience captaining in domestic cricket, this will be his first attempt at leading the A side against a top side like Australia. Also, the CSA selectors have selected three rookie players at this level for the first time. The beneficiaries are Cape Cobras duo of Pieter Malan and Zubayr Hamza and Dolphins all rounder Senuran Muthusamy.

The convener of selectors of the CSA rightly cited that the fixtures for the warmup game do not coincide with any other domestic matches. Hence, the selectors found this an ideal opportunity to give chances to the domestic performers against a quality opposition.

“With no franchise cricket scheduled for that weekend it gives another group of fringe players an ideal opportunity to show what they have to offer against top quality opposition,” Proteas selection convenor Linda Zondi quoted.

Commenting on Khaya Zondo, the Dolphins skipper recently made his ODI debut against India in the ongoing ODI series. He played a couple of matches in the series before making way for AB de Villiers in the fourth ODI. He did not find a place in the South African starting eleven for the fifth ODI either.

However, his domestic performances cannot be overlooked as he has been a consistent performer over the last couple of seasons. The other big names in the squad are Theunis de Bruyn and Beuran Hendricks.

South Africa A squad to play Australia:

Khayalihle Zondo (Dolphins, Captain), Theunis de Bruyn (Knights), Zubayr Hamza (Cape Cobras), Beuran Hendricks (Highveld Lions), Pieter Malan (Cape Cobras), Wiaan Mulder (Highveld Lions), Senuran Muthusamy (Dolphins), Duanne Olivier (Knights), Rudi Second (Knights), Malusi Siboto (Titans), Shaun von Berg (Titans).

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