After suffering a whitewash at home in the ODI series, South Africa are confident to take on Shaheen Shah Afridi-less Pakistan in the Boxing Day Test match starting on Thursday. (More Cricket News)
The Temba Bavuma-led Proteas side only needs one win to seal a spot for the World Test Championship (WTC) final to be played at Lord's in June 2025. They will be looking to book the spot with a win at the SuperSport Park in the Centurion. The other two candidates for the WTC final, Australia and India will also clash in the Boxing Day Test at MCG.
They have won five out of the last six Test matches played and have a good record at home. But, Pakistan could not be taken for granted.
The Shan Masood-led Pakistan side will miss their go-to bowler Shaheen Afridi as he has requested the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) not to include him in the Test series as he wanted to manage his workload.
Pakistan recently defeated England in the home series after trailing by 0-1 in the three-match series. Noman Ali, who played a vital role in the series win, is included in the squad.
South Africa Vs Pakistan 1st ODI - Full Squads
South Africa: Aiden Markram, Tony de Zorzi, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Temba Bavuma (c), David Bedingham, Kyle Verreynne(w), Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada, Dane Paterson, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Matthew Breetzke, Keshav Maharaj, Kwena Maphaka
Pakistan: Abdullah Shafique, Saim Ayub, Shan Masood(c), Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan(w), Salman Agha, Aamer Jamal, Khurram Shahzad, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Abbas, Mir Hamza, Noman Ali, Haseebullah Khan, Kamran Ghulam
South Africa Vs Pakistan, Boxing Day Test: Weather Forecast
The weather forecast at the SuperSport Park in Centurion is not good for the game. There are predictions for rain and thunderstorms for the first three days after Christmas.
It has been raining for a few days in the Centurion which has made the pitch preparation difficult for the curators. But they have the best set-up in the country and the ground staff is working non-stop to make the Boxing Day Test happen as planned.
The last two days of the Test match may see a drop in the rain percentage, but the game is expected to halt on the first three days multiple times.
According to AccuWeather, there are 25% chance of precipitation on the opening day of the Test match. And it will increase to 78% for the next two days.
