Peter Siddle's maiden five-wicket haul blighted South Africa's response as Australia tightened its grip on the proceedings on day three of the third and final Test in Sydney on Monday.
'We know that he's a quality player and there's a good innings around the corner for him. He has been given the extra burden of being captain and that can be tough and something he's not used to.'
Ashwell Prince and Mark Boucher repelled early Bangladesh pressure with a record sixth-wicket stand to take South Africa to 357 for five at stumps on the second day of the second Test on Thursday.
Fulfilling the quota requirements while fielding a competitive team has long been a sensitive issue but after a poor 2019, returning to winning ways looks to be the immediate priority of the four selectors, two of whom are black.
Royal Challengers Bangalore's decision to make Robin Uthappa the wicket-keeper despite having a specialist in Mark Boucher has lent balance to the side, feels coach Ray Jennings, who says the seasoned South African may have to sit out more if the experiment goes well.
Faf du Plessis said, "Now we can trust the system a little bit more and just focus on playing cricket."
Australia's Adam Gilchrist hopes to finally get the recognition he deserves for his prowess behind the stumps after the wicketkeeper-batsman broke the world record for the most Test dismissals on Friday. Gilchrist bettered South African Mark Boucher's world record when he caught Indian captain Anil Kumble shortly after the tea interval on the second day of the fourth and final Test.
Australia were 62 without loss at stumps, in reply to India's 526, at the end of Day 2 of the fourth Test.
Kallis is the latest high-profile name to be inducted in South Africa's coaching set-up after Mark Boucher's appointment as head coach
South Africa have named six uncapped players in their 17-man squad for the first two Tests of the four-match series against England as new coach Mark Boucher seeks to revive the fortunes of the ailing side. Batsmen Pieter Malan and Rassie van der Dussen, fast bowlers Dane Paterson and Beuran Hendricks, all-rounder Dwaine Pretorius and wicketkeeper Rudi Second will all hope to make their debuts in the first Test starting in Pretoria on December 26.
His teammate Chris Gayle and three South African cricketers have also signed up for the inaugural Indian Premier League, organisers said on Wednesday.
Left-arm spinner Robin Peterson, who took career-best figures of five for 33 in South Africa's innings victory over Bangladesh in the second Test, retained his place in the squad which has Ashwell Prince as Graeme Smith's deputy.
South Africa paceman Dale Steyn took three wickets for four runs to reduce Bangladesh in their second innings, to 54 for five at close of play on the third day of the second Test on Sunday. Bangladesh, replying to South Africa's record-studded score of 583 for seven declared, were dismissed for 259 and were asked to follow on just after tea.
Dinesh Karthik topped the bidding in the fifth round of the players' auction in the DLF Indian Premier League after Delhi bought him for US $5,25,000 ahead of South African veteran Mark Boucher. Boucher, one of the top wicketkeepers in world cricket and renowned for his hard-hitting batting, was second-best in the fifth round after Bangalore purchased him for US $4,50,000 against his base price of US $2,00,000, the same as Karthik.
Stuart Broad claimed a career-best five for 23 to help England thrash South Africa by 10 wickets in the second one-day international in Nottingham on Tuesday.
Graeme Smith plundered a fighting 154 not out to lead his South Africa team to a five-wicket victory over England that clinched the Test series at Edgbaston on Saturday.
The South African wicketkeeper said he is after Ian Healy's mark of 395 dismissals in Tests.
Images from Day 4 of the 3rd Test played between South Africa and England in Port Elizabeth on Sunday
For South Africa, Rabada performs optimally when his fires are stoked.
At the close of the third day, West Indies were 96-4 in their second innings, a lead of just 18 over South Africa.
IMAGES from Day 4 of the 2nd Test played at Newlands in Cape Town on Monday
South Africa's cricketers have struck back at suggestions made in Sri Lanka that senior players bullied lower-profile colleagues into agreeing to abandon the tour on security grounds.
AB de Villiers, JP Duminy and Mark Boucher powered South Africa to a thrilling two-wicket win over New Zealand in the first one-day international on Sunday.
South Africa crushed Kenya by 159 runs on Friday in the first one-day international in Bloemfontein. JP Duminy's knock of 90, Jacques Kallis's 71 and Mark Boucher's 30-ball 57 not out led the hosts to 336 for seven after they won the toss.
The wicketkeeper was punished for his speaking out on the omission of all-rounder Jacques Kallis from South Africa's squad for the Tewnty20 World Cup.
South Africa retained Graeme Smith as captain for another year
The South African wicketkeeper hit the second fastest ODI century as the hosts registered a crushing 171-run win over Zimbabwe.
Cricket South Africa's director of cricket Graeme Smith on Thursday categorically denied recent allegations levelled against him by ex-wicketkeeper Thami Tsolekile around team selections during his time as captain of the national team and termed them "extremely hurtful".
AB de Villiers revealed that he would be auctioning his and Virat Kohli's kits from the 2016 Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Gujarat Lions for raising funds to aid the battle against the coronavirus. During a live session on Instagram with former South African captain and RCB teammate AB de Villiers, Kohli said winning the tournament remains the goal but he would not leave the team irrespective of the results.
South Africa captain Mark Boucher said a decision on the injured players will be made just before the opening match against Sri Lanka.
Ashwell Prince, who is leading the team in the ongoing Test series against Sri Lanka, has been included in the ODI squad but is not a certainty to play.
Emphatic batting by AB de Villiers and Graeme Smith handed South Africa a comprehensive victory in the fourth one-day international against Pakistan on Sunday.
A ferocious late onslaught by Mark Boucher set up South Africa for a 164-run victory over Pakistan in the first one-day international on Sunday.
Makhaya Ntini took 5 for 48 to lead South Africa to a crushing 174-run victory against India in the second Test at Durban.
Former India cricketers Robin Singh and Sriram Sridharan will be coaching Bloem City Blazers and Johannesburg Giants respectively in the upcoming T20 Global League to be held in South Africa.
They said the decision to abort their tour of Sri Lanka is fully justified after a bomb blast close to the hotel they were staying in.
A defiant unbeaten half-century from captain Ashwell Prince guided his team to 311 for four at stumps on the fourth day.
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