Johannesburg - The Proteas suffered a massive blow on the eve of their once off Test with England, with fast bowler Shabnim Ismail ruled out of the match with a calf injury.
Along with Ismail, Chloe Tryon will also not take the field at the County Ground in Taunton on Monday, because of a hip niggle, while Ayabonga Khaka, is not being considered for Test selection.
Ismail, the spearhead of the Proteas attack, is one of the world’s best fast bowlers and in her potential new ball partnership with Marizanne Kapp was seen as one of the key weapons in the Proteas arsenal.
Her absence will open the door for either Nadine de Klerk or Tumi Sekhukhune to open the bowling with Kapp.
Skipper Sune Luus, took the absence of the key players in her stride. “Look, a lot of seniors are sitting out, but I have full confidence in the players we do have. It’s the first Test for a few of us and for some others a first in eight years, so we just want to take it session by session and enjoy it as much as we can,” she said.
Tryon and Ismail are two of just five players in the Proteas squad with Test match experience. It will be South Africa’s 13th Test and their first since playing India in Mysore in 2018.