Anrich Nortje has been included in an expanded 18-man preliminary squad for the Proteas’ much-anticipated Test series against Australia.
Nortje last played a Test match in 2023, which was also Shukri Conrad’s first as Proteas coach. That match was also the last time Nortje, who has taken 70 wickets in 19 Tests, bowled with a red ball for South Africa.
He subsequently gave up his national contract to concentrate on the T20 format, but did get a call from Conrad in 2024 about playing Test cricket again, when South Africa also suffered with injuries during the home series with Pakistan.
Nortje then suffered a broken toe while training for the Proteas T20 side and wasn’t considered for selection.
His call-up comes amid a raft of injuries that have hit the country’s fast bowlers. Lungi Ngidi, Ottniel Baartman and Kwena Maphaka were all not considered for selection for the Australia series as they continue rehabilitation programmes after picking up hamstring injuries.
Kagiso Rabada has been included in the enlarged group, though he is still in the recovery stages from his hamstring injury picked up in pre-season. The Proteas will gather in Durban on Thursday for a lengthy training block.
“We’ll have a couple of training days, a two-day intra-squad match and scenario-based training, which will give us an opportunity to assess the group and conditions before settling on our final 15,” said Conrad.
“Having a larger bowling group gives us the flexibility to cover all bases. We have different options across the squad and the next week will give us an opportunity to determine which combinations are best suited to the conditions.”
“We also want to give Kagiso every chance of being available for selection for the first Test, and the two-day game will give us a clearer picture of where he is in terms of his match readiness,” said Conrad.
Marques Ackerman was the only uncapped player to earn selection. The left-hander has had two magnificent years not only for his province, KwaZulu-Natal, but also in the SA A side, for which he scored a century in England this year followed by a double hundred against Bangladesh A last month.
Gerald Coetzee has also earned a recall to the squad, two years after his last Test match, where he picked up a groin injury against Sri Lanka.
Veteran seamer Dane Paterson, who was one of the stars in the 2024/25 summer, helping SA to reach the World Test Championship final, further supplements the seam-bowling stocks.
The first Test against Australia starts at Kingsmead on October 9.
Proteas Test squad
Temba Bavuma (capt), Marques Ackerman, David Bedingham, Corbin Bosch, Gerald Coetzee, Tony de Zorzi, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Anrich Nortje, Dane Paterson, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne
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