The high-flying South African team are all set to get boosted by the return of their pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada for the penultimate Test of the four-match series against England.
Rabada had missed the second Test at Trent Bridge after being handed a one-match suspension for his foul-mouthed send off to Ben Stokes in the first innings at Lord’s.
His absence, nevertheless, did not hurt South Africa much in the second Test, as the Proteas thrashed England by 340 runs to square the series 1-1. The visitors looked in total command throughout the match and their bowling coach Charl Langeveldt has said the return of Rabada for the third Test that is scheduled to begin on Thursday (July 27) at The Oval in London is a boost for the side.
“‘KG’ is one of our best bowlers,” said Charl Langeveldt on Tuesday (July 25). “He is the type of guy who steps up when the heat is on. Having KG back is a big bonus for us. He is a youngster with a lot of energy, he will come with a lot of energy. I have no doubt he will step up.”
Rabada was replaced by Duanne Olivier but the 25-year-old failed to make the chance count, picking up only two wickets and is likely to make way for the former Pacer.
“He (Rabada) did a lot of work before the play during the second Test in Nottingham. He bowled his overs and got his workload up, he will be raring to go. He was obviously disappointed about what happened but he has learned from that,” Langeveldt said.
“The important thing about an incident like this is to learn from it so that it doesn’t happen again. KG is a strong character and he was positive the whole week, he said come Thursday he wants to be ready for the Test,” he added.
The Oval wicket, which has traditionally offered good batting conditions, will not offer as much support, as the pacer-friendly Trent Bridge but the former Proteas international feel overhead conditions will be the decisive factor.
“It all depends on the overhead conditions,” Langeveldt said. “We could come here on Thursday and it could be nice for bowling, it looks like there is a bit of grass. If you look at the stats it has always been good for batting.
“We will have to be a bit more aggressive in the second innings, and in the first innings try to contain and do the basics as well and as long as possible.”