In-form Kuhn heads uncapped South Africa trio for Test series

Heino Kuhn's two centuries on the South Africa A tour of England earned him a call-up on Monday to the senior squad for its upcoming four Test series with England.

Published : Jun 26, 2017 16:19 IST , Johannesburg

Heino Kuhn has some international experience having played Twenty20 cricket for his country.
Heino Kuhn has some international experience having played Twenty20 cricket for his country.
lightbox-info

Heino Kuhn has some international experience having played Twenty20 cricket for his country.

Heino Kuhn's two centuries on the South Africa A tour of England earned him a call-up on Monday to the senior squad for its upcoming four Test series with England.

The 33-year-old batsman — who made centuries against Hampshire and then the England Lions — is one of three uncapped players along with Aiden Markram and Andile Phehlukwayo to be named at Test level.

"Heino Kuhn has shown outstanding form for South Africa A on their recent tour of England which included a double century in the four-day match against Hampshire and a further century against the England Lions," CSA selection convener Linda Zondi said.

"He certainly deserved his place on consistent form."

Established stars like batsman A. B. de Villiers and paceman Dale Steyn are unavailable for selection.

De Villiers is taking a break from Test cricket and Steyn hasn't fully recovered from a shoulder problem which has kept him off the pitch since the end of last year.

The team will be captained by Faf du Plessis and there is plenty of batting experience with Hashim Amla, J. P. Duminy and Quinton de Kock as well as on the bowling side with Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander.

Kuhn has some international experience having played Twenty20 cricket for his country.

Phehlukwayo, 21, has played not only T20 for 'The Proteas' — including the just concluded 2-1 series loss to England — but also appeared in the one day series in England and the disappointing Champions Trophy campaign which saw the world ranked number one side fail to reach the semi-finals.

"Andile's selection is a continuation of our drive to develop bowling all-rounders for the Test team," Zondi explained.

"He and Chris Morris will fill this role in support of Vernon Philander. At the age of 21 he is certainly one for the future."

Markram also impressed for South Africa A during its tour of England and will provide batting cover for du Plessis, who could miss the first Test at Lord's as his wife is due to give birth in early July.

Should du Plessis have to return to South Africa he will be replaced as skipper by Dean Elgar.

Squad: Faf du Plessis (capt.), Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Theunis de Bruyn, Quinton de Kock, JP Duminy, Dean Elgar, Heino Kuhn, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Duanne Olivier, Andile Phehlukwayo, Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada.

Test schedule (venue, date it begins)

July 6th: 1st Test at Lord's

July 14th: 2nd Test at Trent Bridge, Nottingham

July 27th: 3rd Test at The Oval

Aug 4th: Old Trafford, Manchester

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment