Petersen ruled out of New Zealand tour

The Hollywoodbets Dolphins batsman will not travel with the squad after he returned a positive test on the eve of their departure to the Land of the Long White Cloud ruling him out of the trip.

Despite the positive test Petersen is asymptomatic and is well and will be replaced in the squad by Western Province batsman Zubayr Hamza for the two test series against the current ICC World Test Champions.

Petersen joins seamer Anrich Nortje on the list of players unavailable for the tour as he continues his rehabilitation after a hip injury.

Heading to New Zealand for a test series comes with it’s challenges and the Proteas haven’t played a test in Christchurch since 1999 which means South Africa will need to adjust quickly, however the foreign conditions aren’t the only reason they need to adjust rapidly.

“Going to New Zealand is tough and with a two test match series we know we have to start well,” captain Dean Elgar said.

“Starting well is where we have let ourselves down in the past and with just two tests if you don’t start well then you basically take away winning the series out of the equation or it makes it a lot hard.

“We want to build on what I believe is something great and we have been doing the right things in our own way and it’s great to see the guys responding to that.”

Following series wins against the West Indies and India the Proteas are in a good groove from a test cricket perspective and for Elgar and his team they don’t want too much down time now.

“I’m sure the guys are extremely keen to get going again because when you are playing good cricket you want to keep doing that and build on that.

“We are in a good space at the moment from a playing point of view and we shouldn’t take that for granted and continue to try and get better,” Elgar added.

Talking about who might replace Petersen in the starting eleven, the captain threw up a few options of who might come into the side.

“SJ Erwee has been our back-up batter for quite some time and has had a few series now where he has carried the drinks and he has been brilliant for us off the field.

“I would like to think that he is the one guy that comes in, but we have Zubayr Hamza that comes into the squad who is another option for us.

“We have to see what the best option is for us going into the two test matches.

“It is pretty clear cut that Sarel Erwee and Hamza are the two guys that will be pushing there for that number three spot and this is something that we will have to deal with in our ten day quarantine,” Elgar commented.

The first test match of the series starts at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch on 17 February.

Proteas Test squad vs New Zealand
Dean Elgar (captain, Momentum Multiply Titans), Temba Bavuma (vice-captain, Imperial Lions), Sarel Erwee (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Zubayr Hamza (Six Gun Grill Western Province), Simon Harmer (Momentum Multiply Titans), Marco Jansen (Gbets Warriors), Keshav Maharaj (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Aiden Markram (Momentum Multiply Titans), Wiaan Mulder (Imperial Lions), Lungi Ngidi (Momentum Multiply Titans), Duanne Olivier (Imperial Lions), Kagiso Rabada (Imperial Lions), Ryan Rickelton (Imperial Lions), Lutho Sipamla (Imperial Lions), Glenton Stuurman (Gbet Warriors), Rassie van der Dussen (Imperial Lions), Kyle Verreynne (wicket-keeper, Six Gun Grill Western Province).

Team management
Mark Boucher (Head Coach), Khomotso Volvo Masubelele (Manager), Charl Langeveldt (Bowling Coach), Justin Ontong (Fielding Coach), Justin Sammons (Batting Consultant), Malibongwe Maketa (Coach), Brent Martin (Physiotherapist), Tumi Masekela (Strength & Conditioning Coach), Dr Shuaib Manjra (Team Dr), Sipokazi Sokanyile (Media Manager), Kyle Botha (Masseur), Zunaid Wadee (Security).