Quinton question behind the stumps

The picture that emerged on the boundary here yesterday in the Proteas' last training session before start of the first Test against Sri Lanka today was not worth a thousand words.

But the few words it was worth were important: Quinton de Kock is likely to play because AB de Villiers's dodgy hamstring will probably limit his role to batting only.

That was the logical conclusion to draw when, after the squad warmed up with a game of football, De Kock donned his wicket keeping gear while De Villiers pulled on the gloves players use to spare their palms during fielding practice.

"He [De Villiers] has not kept in any of our practices and he is highly unlikely to keep wicket," Hashim Amla had said minutes earlier.

That would rob Stiaan van Zyl or Dane Piedt of a Test debut.

With De Villiers fully fit, South Africa could have chosen to add steel to their middle order by including Van Zyl or opted for Piedt as Imran Tahir's spin twin.

"With Quinton playing, it changes the dynamic of the team," Amla said. "We'll probably go with one spinner and JP [Duminy]."

But another part of yesterday's picture might have been worth more than a thousand words.

In the football game, De Villiers was stationed close to goal. But it is hard to keep a player of his enthusiasm tethered for long, and soon De Villiers was sprinting upfield and back towards goal like Philipp Lahm himself.

In fact, De Villiers looked in better shape than the man who is entrusted with panel-beating his hamstring back into shape, South African team physiotherapist Brandon Jackson, who hobbled around the place in a heavy knee brace.

De Kock is likely to bat at No7, modern wicketkeepers' default position unless they are De Villiers. But why not send him in at the top of the order? It would make sense to unleash his destructive power on the Lankans' limited pace attack before the ball gets old, the pitch deteriorates and the spinners come into their own.

Ground staff have been leaving the pitch uncovered to bake under the intense sun, but sporadic downpours and humidity have precluded its premature desertification.

"As the game progresses it will turn, even if it is slow turn," Amla said. His Sri Lankan counterpart, Angelo Mathews, was more hopeful: "It might spin towards the end of the second or third day."

Sri Lanka's record here is worthy of the famous fort that has stood on the seafront since 1588. They have lost only four of their 22 Galle Tests and won 12.

The Proteas did not win either of their previous two Tests here. But before Saturday, they had never won a one-day series in Sri Lanka either.