Advertisement
Advertisement
South Africa stand-in skipper Aiden Markram has backed Dewald Brevis as a game-changer on spin-friendly pitches during the Pakistan tour.
Speaking ahead of the team’s departure, Markram pointed out Brevis’ aggressive gameplay and stated that he could change the course of the game in quick time.
Proteas will be without their ace batter, Temba Bavuma, for the first tour of Pakistan since 202`1. Bavuma suffered a calf strain and was eventually ruled out of the tour.
“He’d definitely be an option, especially with the way he plays spin,” Markram said of Brevis.
Dewald Brevis has played two Tests so far and has already caught the eye with his power hitting in T20I cricket.
“If the conditions are going to be exaggerated, he can quickly change the momentum of the game, doing what he does and playing the way he does. He’ll be a definite consideration, ” he remarked.
Regarding extreme spin conditions, he emphasized home advantage and deemed the exaggerated pitches as challenging for both teams.
“If it’s your home game, you can pretty much prepare whatever wicket you’d like to prepare. That’s how I see it. Ultimately, if it’s going to be extreme like it was in the English series, then it’s going to be difficult for both teams from a batting point of view.
For us as a squad, we’ve just got to be happy with what we have, whatever the conditions look like, and to back whoever it is on the day to get the job done. So I’m not too fussed by it,” he continued.
South Africa have also picked a spin-heavy squad with an ample variety in their lineups. Notably, Simon Harmer is vastly experienced and has 987 first-class scalps along with 39 in Test cricket.
“They’re all quite different. If you look at the two off-spinners to start with, Simon and Subs [Prenelan Subrayen], especially having faced them now, where it is spinning, it’s two completely different challenges they throw at you. That’s something great to have as a squad,”
“You don’t really want similar types of spinners. They are each quite different, different paces, different types of spin in terms of side spin and overspin and stuff like that, which reacts differently off the wickets. They’ll play a massive role for us there if what we’re expecting is going to be the case,” he concluded.
The first Test will begin on October 12 at the Gaddafi Stadium Lahore.
Aiden Markram (capt), David Bedingham, Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Tony de Zorzi, Zubayr Hamza, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj (second Test only), Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Prenelan Subrayen, Kyle Verreynne
READ: Clinical South Africa outplay New Zealand in Women’s World Cup clash
