AB full of good hope on way to Cape Town

Proteas vice-captain AB de Villiers flew to Cape Town last night to join his teammates, hoping he can convince the selectors that he is fit to play against Australia in the first cricket test starting on Wednesday at Newlands.

The vice-captain is crucial to the South African middle-order which has failed to fire in the limited-overs matches this summer. He said last week he had fully recovered from surgery on the left hand he broke during the Champions League in September and yesterday he put that contention to the test in a match for the Titans, making only 12 but, more significantly, batting for 21 balls and fielding for just over 30 overs - and taking a catch.

"If I get through this game I will be ready for the first test," De Villiers promised last Thursday and yesterday he gave no indication of rescinding the promise.

His return to the game yesterday came with a bit of cricket history, De Villiers becoming the first batsman to be given out for obstructing the field under the strict new rules governing one-day matches.

In the match against the Knights at Willowmoore Park, Ryan McLaren missed an attempt to run out De Villiers, but umpire Lubalalo Gcuma decided the batsman had obstructed the fielder.

The Titans' last man in, Rowan Richards, was dismissed in a similar way as the team slumped to 158 all out, losing by nine wickets.

South Africa are not only agonising over the fitness of De Villiers, but also over the choice of spinners and a third seamer.

They haven't had the usual, hot, early summer weather in Cape Town, so the Newlands pitch is not as hard as it could have been. It has been a little slow for the Cape Cobras matches there in the Supersport Series, but curator Evan Flynt prepared a good wicket for the recent T20 international and hopes for a surface that will provide a good balance between bat and ball over the five days starting on Wednesday.

Proteas fast bowler Dale Steyn will be eager for a hard wicket to start with, so that he can deliver on his apparent threat to Aussie opener Phil Hughes.

The Aussie press has been building up the test as a clash between the 22-year-old Aussie and the best bowler in the world. The first time Steyn had a go at Hughes was in the Aussie's first test. He lasted just four balls at the Wanderers.

But he followed up that duck with scores of 75, 115, 160, 33 and 32. So it's game on.

"I'm sure there is going to be a lot of short-pitched bowling," Hughes told the Aussie media at the weekend.

Hughes made four and 19 in Australia's match last week against South Africa A, falling to Vernon Philander, who made a strong case for selection ahead of rival seamers Lonwabo Tsotsobe and Wayne Parnell.