Proteas thinktank faces crucial selection posers for the first Test against New Zealand

SA's thinktank have two important selection decisions to make for the first Test  against New Zealand starting on Thursday at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch.

Coach Mark Bucher and captain Dean Elgar must decide whether to go with a frontline spinner at this venue who will offer assistance for fast bowlers, and who will replace Keegan Petersen at number three.

“We have a clear indication so far of the balance of the side but we haven’t finalised things yet,” Elgar said during his pre-match press conference on Wednesday.

“I am pretty sure we will finalise everything by the end of our training session on Wednesday afternoon. So far we have a good indication of the combinations we would like to use in the first Test.”

Proteas players have trained at the Hagley Oval for the past few days after they exited their managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) facility, and Elgar said the venue doesn’t have a history of being favourable for spin.

“Whether to use a frontline spinner or not is hot debate at the moment. I think that ties in with one of the bigger decisions we have to make after training on Wednesday afternoon.

“We’ll have to decide whether there is space for a spinner on conditions that don’t necessarily suit a spinner. History so far is showing us the spinner doesn’t serve too much of a role at the Hagley Oval.

“I can’t say yes or no to this question, but I’ll be able to answer it at the end of practice on Wednesday afternoon, or you can wait to see what happens before the start of the match on Thursday.”

The other key selection poser is who will replace Petersen in the top order. Elgar had earlier hinted Sarel Erwee may get the nod ahead of Zubayr Hamza.

“His (Erwee) strengths over the last two to three seasons from a SA ‘A’ and domestic point of view is that he has occupied the crease for a long periods and is one of those guys who can accumulate runs as innings progresses.

“He is someone who can bat time and rightly so he has scored a lot of good scores on the domestic scene. He’s got the numbers under his belt and that is the reason he is here.

“I see him as someone who can fulfill the role of occupying the crease, a little bit like my kind of role, and in Test cricket you need that. You need to guys to occupy the crease and fulfil different roles the team needs in that point in time.

“We must also bear in mind he’s got a game of scoring runs by playing expensively once he gets in. He’s been around where he has played domestic cricket for many years and I think he is very comfortable knowing his game.

“ Test cricket does throw challenges at you from an intensity point of view and make you second guess yourself a little, but I think being 32 means he is  confident and pretty assertive with the roles he can fulfill.”