NO DANE, NO GAIN: Proteas back Pato vs SL innie Baai
BY DEAN CLOETE
The Proteas have decided to druk op die nommer of veteran fast bowler Dane Paterson for today’s second and final Test against Sri Lanka at St George’s Park in Gqeberha.
The 35-year-old Western Province ace from Kraaifontein has played just four five-day matches for South Africa after making his debut innie Baai against England back in 2020 and has been chosen ahead of teenager Kwena Maphaka for today’s match.
With fast bowler Gerald Coetzee and allrounder Wiaan Mulder both ruled out because of injury, captain Temba Bavuma on Wednesday revealed that Paterson will replace Coetzee and batsman Ryan Rickelton will come in for Mulder to bolster their batting lineup.
Bavuma says of Paterson cracking the nod: “If you look at all our bowlers, he’s the one guy that can hit the stumps more consistently, I guess being shorter in stature.
“St George’s is one of those wickets where LBW [leg before wicket], bowled and even the nick off [the bat] become a lot more predominant in terms of wicket-taking.
“I guess he adds that to the team. From a skill point of view, there’s not many [bowlers] better than Pato in terms of getting it up there and swinging it around.
“So he played five Tests in four years, but every time he’s got an opportunity he’s always shown that he should probably be playing more. It’s nice to have him back in the starting lineup.”
South Africa won the first Test by 233 runs and will be out for a 2-0 series clean sweep at 10am today.
