“He has bowled since we started our camp in Canterbury. Obviously with regard to the workload, I think that's the biggest concern, whether he can carry himself through a Test match with the intensity and the volume of overs in a day's play.
“For now he's doing all the right things. I can't say yes or no as yet, but there still are eight or nine days before the first Test and he's high on our list to get him fit and giving us more options for the series.”
While Rabada is on the mend, the Proteas have been significantly bolstered by the return to the Test squad of Anrich Nortjé. The paceman played the last of his 12 Tests against West Indies more than a year ago.
“It's great to have Ana back,” Elgar added. “He's gone amiss a bit with his injuries over the past year. The way he's bowling in the nets and the way he's bowled in the white-ball game now is big for us.
“He brings a whole different aspect of pace to the table and in the UK if you have those kinds of assets, you need to use them.”
The three-match Test series against England begins at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London on August 17.
Proteas Test squad against England
Dean Elgar (captain, Momentum Multiply Titans), Sarel Erwee (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Marco Jansen (Gbets Warriors), Simon Harmer (Momentum Multiply Titans), Keshav Maharaj (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Aiden Markram (Momentum Multiply Titans), Lungi Ngidi (Momentum Multiply Titans), Anrich Nortjé (Gbets Warriors), Duanne Olivier (Imperial Lions), Keegan Petersen (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Kagiso Rabada (Imperial Lions), Ryan Rickelton (Imperial Lions), Lutho Sipamla (Imperial Lions), Rassie van der Dussen (Imperial Lions), Kyle Verreynne (wicketkeeper, Six Gun Grill Western Province), Khaya Zondo (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Glenton Stuurman (Gbets Warriors)
SA Test Tour to England Itinerary
Four-Day Tour Match
August 9 — 12
Lions vs SA — The Spitfire Ground St Lawrence, Canterbury
Tests
August 17 — 21
England vs SA — Lord’s Cricket Ground, London
August 25 — 29
England vs SA — Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester
September 8 — 12
England vs SA — Kia Oval, London
TimesLIVE
Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.
Elgar ready for tour match against Lions as they prepare for England Test showdown
Image: Lee Warren/Gallo Images/Getty Images
The Proteas formally kick-off their preparations for the first Test match against England next week when they play a four-day tour match against the Lions starting at The Spitfire Ground St Lawrence in Canterbury on Tuesday.
The players travelled from Bristol in the southwest to the east coast over the weekend to begin their red-ball preparations after a highly successful trip thus far.
They drew their rain-affected One-Day International (ODI) series 1-1 against the hosts, who they then beat 2-1 in a three-match T20 International (T20I) sequence. That was followed by a 2-0 win over Ireland in their two-game T20I series.
Speaking before the warm-up match, Test captain Dean Elgar told the media that having players join the squad who were part of those limited-overs games was a big positive for the team.
“They've got a lot of confidence coming into the set-up and it's almost like a breath of fresh air with these guys coming.
“Knowing they've done so well in the past month playing here, that's great for us. It gives us good resources, many options and info we can use to best prepare going into the series.”
Many of the players in the Test squad also have strong experience playing county cricket in England. Elgar believes this too will benefit SA.
“I think those options are brilliant for us. I think we're ticking the boxes in the right nature, having guys play county cricket here now and doing pretty well in those games they've played. It's a massive asset for us going into this Test series just from an experience of the conditions point of view.”
Elgar also provided an injury update regarding Kagiso Rabada, who did not feature in their most recent white-ball matches due to an ankle problem.
Proteas in a race against time to get Rabada fit and firing
“He has bowled since we started our camp in Canterbury. Obviously with regard to the workload, I think that's the biggest concern, whether he can carry himself through a Test match with the intensity and the volume of overs in a day's play.
“For now he's doing all the right things. I can't say yes or no as yet, but there still are eight or nine days before the first Test and he's high on our list to get him fit and giving us more options for the series.”
While Rabada is on the mend, the Proteas have been significantly bolstered by the return to the Test squad of Anrich Nortjé. The paceman played the last of his 12 Tests against West Indies more than a year ago.
“It's great to have Ana back,” Elgar added. “He's gone amiss a bit with his injuries over the past year. The way he's bowling in the nets and the way he's bowled in the white-ball game now is big for us.
“He brings a whole different aspect of pace to the table and in the UK if you have those kinds of assets, you need to use them.”
The three-match Test series against England begins at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London on August 17.
Proteas Test squad against England
Dean Elgar (captain, Momentum Multiply Titans), Sarel Erwee (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Marco Jansen (Gbets Warriors), Simon Harmer (Momentum Multiply Titans), Keshav Maharaj (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Aiden Markram (Momentum Multiply Titans), Lungi Ngidi (Momentum Multiply Titans), Anrich Nortjé (Gbets Warriors), Duanne Olivier (Imperial Lions), Keegan Petersen (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Kagiso Rabada (Imperial Lions), Ryan Rickelton (Imperial Lions), Lutho Sipamla (Imperial Lions), Rassie van der Dussen (Imperial Lions), Kyle Verreynne (wicketkeeper, Six Gun Grill Western Province), Khaya Zondo (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Glenton Stuurman (Gbets Warriors)
SA Test Tour to England Itinerary
Four-Day Tour Match
August 9 — 12
Lions vs SA — The Spitfire Ground St Lawrence, Canterbury
Tests
August 17 — 21
England vs SA — Lord’s Cricket Ground, London
August 25 — 29
England vs SA — Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester
September 8 — 12
England vs SA — Kia Oval, London
TimesLIVE
Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.
MORE:
Proteas coach Boucher says SA cricket is in a healthy state
Proteas in a race against time to get Rabada fit and firing
Parnell bowls Proteas to comfortable T20 win over Ireland
T20 world record beckons for Proteas’ red-hot Reeza Hendricks
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Most read
Latest Videos