Stiaan van Zyl, Beuran Hendricks and Rory Kleinveldt have all been included in the SA Invitation squad to play the three-day tour match against the West Indies in Benoni from Wednesday of next week.

The three Cape Cobras, who have all been part of a Proteas squad, will relish this opportunity for vastly different reasons. The two big quicks need to get some miles in their legs and an impressive performance will serve as a timely reminder to the national selectors not to forget about them.

Stiaan Van Zyl has the most to gain out of the clash, though. He’s expected to make his test debut against the same opposition and getting some runs under his belt will give him lots of confidence ahead of the Test series. He’s been knocking on the door for quite some time and will want to make the most of the opportunity, which finally appears to have arrived.

The High Performance Manager at Cricket South Africa, Vinnie Barnes, explained the selection of the three big guns to the media.

‘All three players have been short of match practice after coming back from injury and they need time in the middle,’ said Barnes.

‘Proteas coach, Russell Domingo, has agreed to release Stiaan, who is a member of the test squad, for the duration of the match.

‘The rest of the team has been made up from players who have impressed at the national academy and this will be an opportunity for them to perform on a bigger stage,’ concluded Barnes.

The match does not have first-class status so all 13 players will get game time.

SA Invitation squad:Dominic Hendricks (Highveld Lions, capt), Gihahn Cloete (Knights), Darryn DuPavillon (Dolphins), Rabian Engelbrecht (Dolphins), Clyde Fortuin (Cape Cobras), Beuran Hendricks (Cape Cobras), Rory Kleinveldt (Cape Cobras), Aviwe Mgijima (Western Province), Mangaliso Mosehle (Titans), Jerry Nqolo (Border), Keagan Petersen (Cape Cobras), Tabraiz Shamzi (Titans), Stiaan van Zyl (Cape Cobras).

Coach: Shukri Conrad

Photo: Backpagepix