South Africa have named four uncapped players in an expanded test squad of 15 for the first Test against England.
Left-arm medium pacer Wayne Parnell, batsman Alviro Petersen, all-rounder Ryan McLaren and seamer Friedel de Wet could all win a first test cap if selected at Centurion. Of the quartet, only De Wet is not part of South Africa’s one-day squad currently involved in a series against England.
“Alviro Petersen deserves his call-up both for the impressive way he has returned to international cricket and the weight of runs he has made in domestic cricket,” Mike Procter, South Africa’s head of selectors, said.
“He is able to cover all of the top six batting positions. Ryan McLaren provides us with an all-rounder if we want to go down that route and we want both Wayne Parnell and Friedel de Wet to work in the national squad set-up.”
South Africa have opted for an enlarged squad to cover for all-rounder Jacques Kallis, who could miss out with a rib injury.
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“Kallis is obviously a very big number in our test side and providing cover for him requires more than one player,” Procter added.
South Africa: Graeme Smith (captain), Hashim Amla, Mark Boucher, AB de Villiers, Friedel de Wet, JP Duminy, Paul Harris, Jacques Kallis, Ryan McLaren, Morne Morkel, Makhaya Ntini, Wayne Parnell, Alviro Petersen, Ashwell Prince, Dale Steyn.