The vital two-Test series against Sri Lanka gets underway on Wednesday morning and with the World Test Championship final looming, there will certainly be more pressure. This is however not just the case for South Africa, but for Sri Lanka as well, as they are still in the running.

Sri Lanka are however playing some of their best cricket in a long time and will be difficult to beat. This will be the fourth time these two teams go head-to-head in Durban in Test cricket, and previously Sri Lanka has won twice, while one ended in a draw.

South Africa has opted to go with four seamers and one spinner in Keshav Maharaj, and this does give an indication that the wicket will lean more towards being conducive to pace.

Gerald Coetzee and Marco Jansen return, while Kagiso Rabada will spearhead the attack, and in-form Wiaan Mulder will contribute to the pace attack.

The returning captain Temba Bavuma said he feels that pace will be the order of the day, and they can also always bank on Maharaj on his home ground.

Gerald Coetzee. Photo: Cricinfo

“From a seam point of view, we’re quite confident in the guys that we’ve selected, and from a spin point of view, we’ve got Keshav, and if there is a need for a second spinner, we do have Aiden Markram as well, who can give us that opportunity,” said Bavuma.

“Looking at the wicket, we feel that if it does spin, it will probably be at the end of the game, considering the weather as well. I think probably the seamers will come into play, and we’re quite confident in our bowling pack.”

Bavuma added that they are ready for the challenge that lies ahead and they will go into the Test series quietly confident.

‘I’m excited to be back on the team again’

“I believe the team is as ready as it can be. We had a good camp at the HPC that we had last week. We’ve come here to Kingsmead as well, and we’ve committed ourselves to the conditions as well as we could.

“There is a lot of excitement amongst the group. Four games left in our World Test Championship, and every game is as important as a final will be. So the guys are ready, like I said, guys are excited. I’m excited to be back on the team again. I think you should be seeing some good stuff from the guys.”

Play at Kingsmead is scheduled to get underway at 09:30 this morning, but the weather may be a factor.

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek mvh