South Africa tour of New Zealand 2024: Cricket South-Africa on Saturday announced a completely new look South African squad for the Test series against the Kiwis, and the squad consists of 7 uncapped players, including opening batter Neil Brand, the skipper of the Proteas for the Test series against New Zealand.
Batters David Bedingham and Keegan Petersen are the only players in the squad who were a part of the South African team that won the Boxing Day test match against India.
All the main red ball players of the Proteas are contracted to SA20 franchises, and the SA20 matches clash with the New Zealand Test series, and according to Cricket South Africa’s rules, the SA20 players are not going to be eligible for selection for the test series against the Kiwis.
Test Coach Shukri Conrad is pretty confident that this young squad can compete against New Zealand, and the selected players have proven themselves in the ‘A’ series against West Indies A and India A.
“Firstly, I would like to congratulate the players that will be traveling with the team to New Zealand for the first time. It’s a real honor to represent your country, and they should savor the moment. The players chosen for this tour have every chance of challenging New Zealand, and we are pretty confident that they will do exactly that when we reach Mount Maunganui for the first test match. Most of these players participated in the ‘A’ series against West Indies A and India A, where they proved that they are capable of playing against international players. That experience will no doubt leave them in a better position for what we expect to be a challenging series against New Zealand,” Coach Shukri Conrad said.
27-year-old Neil Brand has scored 2906 first-class runs at an average of 39.27. He is a slow left-arm orthodox spinner as well and has taken 72 wickets at an average of 30.81.
South Africa’s two-match test series against New Zealand kicks off on the 4th of February, and the second test match will take place on the 13th of February.
Test Squad of South Africa against New Zealand
Neil Brand (captain), Khaya Zondo, Keegan Petersen, David Bedingham, Clyde Fortuin, Ruan de Swardt, Tshepo Moreki, Zubayr Hamza, Duanne Oliver, Mihlali Mpongwana, Dane Paterson, Dane Piedt, Shaun Von Berg and Raynard Van Tonder.
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