Russell Domingo expects strong performance from Proteas against Lankans

South African coach Russell Domingo has exuded confidence from his side prior to the start of the first Test match against Sri Lanka set to kick-off on Boxing day. This time around, the Proteas have added just 13 members to their squad for the opening Test match, something Domingo believes will reduce the selection headaches for the South African team management as well.

While the usual suspects in the form of AB de Villiers and Dale Steyn are still missing from the grand scheme of things, it seems quite clear that reinforcements are brought in. And the reinforcement this time around is Theunis de Bruyn and coach Russell Domingo is absolutely certain that he will certainly be a good addition to the side.

“We’ve only decided to pick 13 for this series. It gives us fewer selection problems and gives the incumbents a sense of security and they can focus really hard on their preparation and not worry too much about selection. It just makes it a lot clearer and a lot more simplistic,” Domingo said ahead of their first training session in Port Elizabeth on Thursday (December 22).

Given the fact that the Proteas have been extremely successful in their previous Test match engagements including the 2-1 series win down under. “It’s a big series for us. We have been playing some good Test match cricket of late and to continue that form and the brand of cricket that we want to play is of paramount importance for us.

“The guys love coming to Port Elizabeth. We feel that the wicket suits us to a degree. The ball tends to reverse swing here because of the abrasive wicket which helps our seamers. If there is a little bit of an Easterly or overhead conditions, we are able to exploit those conditions as well.

Speaking about the Port Elizabeth wicket, Domingo said”It’s never historically been a fast wicket, it’s a wicket where you have to be patient and you have to grind out runs. That’s the strength of this particular side, our levels of patience and being able to withstand those types of periods.”

Finally, Domingo said that everyone was proud of the achievements of Quinton de Kock. “Everyone is very proud of him. He has had an outstanding 12 months,” Domingo said. “About a year and a half ago, he was left out of the Test side when we were in Bangladesh and he has shown some real good character to come back. He is in phenomenal form at the moment and everyone is really pleased for him.”

Squad: Faf du Plessis (capt), Kyle Abbott, Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Stephen Cook, Theunis de Bruyn, Quinton de Kock, JP Duminy, Dean Elgar, Keshav Maharaj, Wayne Parnell, Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada