Proteas coach Shukri Conrad is in a spin ahead of the start of their first Test against the West Indies at the Queens Park Oval tomorrow.
According to the Proteas five-day mentor, the pitch in Port of Spain will be spin friendly – he judges this by having practised at the ground and also by the squad the Windies picked for the two-match series.
And that brings him to his all-important team selection for the match, does he go with two specialist spinners in Keshav Maharaj and Dane Piedt, or does he go with one and rely on the part-time offies of Aiden Markram and even Tristan Stubbs?
Conrad says of whether Markram can play a role: “The balance of the side is going to be important.
“We know it’s gonna spin. Everything tells us it’s gonna spin – the question is how early or how late...
“If it spins as much as we think, then yes, Aiden can become effective. The same with someone like Stubbo. That’s going to be the trick, balancing the attack – how many batters we play and obviously the amount of seamers we choose.”
With the likes of Gerald Coetzee, Anrich Nortje and Marco Jansen unavailable, it makes sense for SA to not go with a fast-bowler heavy attack.
With hot conditions also leading to shorter bowling spells, it would’nt be that crazy if Maharaj and Piedt get picked to play.