Leaving Pretoria with dusty fingers and a few scuffed pads, South Africa’s Test squad head to Pakistan this week believing they have done what they can to mimic what awaits. They will start their World Test Championship defence in Lahore on Friday, and interim captain Aiden Markram is under no illusion that the home side will lean on turning pitches.
“If it’s your home game, you can pretty much prepare whatever wicket you’d like to prepare. That’s how I see it,” he said shortly before departure. “Ultimately, if it’s going to be extreme like it was in the English series, then it’s going to be difficult for both teams from a batting point of view… So I’m not too fussed by it.”
Facts first
• South Africa have not played together in whites since the WTC final in June.
• Several players did pick up first-class overs in Zimbabwe and in county cricket.
• A two-day spin camp was hastily arranged at the High Performance Centre in Pretoria.
• Lahore and Rawalpindi hosted England last year; 29 of 31 wickets there fell to spin.
• Keshav Maharaj joins only for the second Test; Temba Bavuma remains unavailable.
Simulating the sub-continent
No surface on the Highveld ever collapses like Lahore in mid-afternoon, yet the coaches tried. Markram explained they had five prepared strips: “There’s three pitches that are spinning quite a bit and two out of those three are really exaggerated. The one that’s a little bit in between is still sharp spin but slightly easier to bat on. And then we’ve got one strip in the middle as well where it’s pretty normal.”
The aim, he said, was neither gimmick nor gamesmanship. “We try to keep it as dead as possible but it’s not always that easy… It’s difficult to do that on the Highveld, but we’ve tried our best. We’re trying to tick all the boxes.”
Bowling options multiplied
Selectors have leaned into the forecasted conditions. Left-armer Senuran Muthusamy returns, while off-spinners Simon Harmer and Prenelan Subrayen will contest one, perhaps two places in the XI. Maharaj’s late arrival gives the side four specialist spinners for Rawalpindi.
“They’re all quite different,” Markram noted. “If you look at the two off-spinners to start with, Simon and Subs, especially having faced them now where it is spinning, it’s two completely different challenges they throw at you… different paces, different types of spin in terms of side spin and overspin and stuff like that, which reacts differently off the wickets. They’ll play a massive role for us there if what we’re expecting is going to be the case.”
Batting conundrum
The bigger puzzle could be runs. Markram himself has not played a Test since taking Player of the Match honours in the WTC final. Dean Elgar, also fresh from county duty, is set to open. Without Bavuma, the middle order looks light on recent time in the middle. Tristan Stubbs or Kyle Verreynne may be asked to anchor alongside Markram, while Marco Jansen’s improved defence offers insurance at No. 7.
Pace still relevant
Rawalpindi can reverse-swing when the sun bakes the square, so Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje are expected to feature regardless of surface. Both have tweaked run-ups during the camp to maximise control on slower tracks. Even so, Markram hinted at a possible three-spinner template, with Nortje the enforcer and Rabada sharing the new ball.
Perspective, not panic
Pakistan, backed by a partisan crowd and Yasir Shah’s enduring guile, remain favourites. Yet Markram chooses calm. “For us as a squad, we’ve just got to be happy with what we have, whatever the conditions look like and to back whoever it is on the day to get the job done.”
The Proteas have lost only one of their last six away Tests, conditioning Markram to judge progress, not hype it. A drawn series keeps the WTC defence on track; anything more would be noteworthy—though the captain would probably shrug and smile.
