Proteas win toss and bat first, debut for Sayers

Morné Morkel will have a chance to put his feet up at the start of his final Test after Proteas captain Faf du Plessis won the toss and chose to bat first against Australia on Friday. Photo: Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix

Morné Morkel will have a chance to put his feet up at the start of his final Test after Proteas captain Faf du Plessis won the toss and chose to bat first against Australia on Friday. Photo: Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix

Published Mar 30, 2018

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JOHANNESBURG – South Africa won the toss and chose to bat in the fourth and final Test that will bring to an end one of the most dramatic and controversial series’ in the history of the sport.

While the South Africans go into the match with an unchanged team following the 322-run win in the third Test at Newlands last week, there has been enormous upheaval in the Australian team – and throughout Australian cricket.

That is reflected in the starting team for the fourth Test which features four changes. Three of those were enforced following the sanctions handed out by Cricket Australia to Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft.

Matt Renshaw and Joe Burns – who along with Glenn Maxwell – only checked into the team hotel on Wednesday night will open the batting, Peter Handscomb comes in for Smith, while 30-year-old Chadd Sayers from South Australia, was handed his debut in place of Mitchell Starc.

Smith and Warner were banned from playing professional cricket for 12 months, while Bancroft was banned for nine months after being fingered as the main protagonists in the ball tampering scandal that rocked the sport at Newlands.

The Test will be Morné Morkel’s final appearance in a Proteas shirt.

Teams For The Wanderers

South Africa: Aiden Markram, Dean Elgar, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis (captain), Temba bavuma, Quinton de Kock, Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Morné Morkel.

Australia: Joe Burns, Matt Renshaw, Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Peter Handscomb, Mitchell Marsh, Tim Paine (captain), Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, Chadd Sayers, Josh Hazlewood.

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