When he heard he’d be making his Test debut in Bulawayo today, the first person Lesego Senokwane called was his mother, Eunice.
“She’s been with me through everything, she’s seen everything, it was special to let her know that her investment went into something. She was happy to know her son was going to make his debut for South Africa,” said Senokwane.
He made his first-class debut in 2015, and after dropping bowling to focus on batting and then moving from the middle order to open the innings, he has quickly established himself as a steady contributor, earning a move next season to the Northern Titans from Free State.
Though his first-class statistics appear modest — an average of 31.22 — Senokwane’s debut is the result of his rapid improvement in form in the last three years at domestic level, first for the North West Dragons and last season for Free State.
From averaging 28.75 in 2022/23 to last season making two centuries, including a double hundred and averaging 55.90, the 28-year-old has passed one of the tests set by selectors — to perform well at provincial level. “He’s broken down the door at domestic level,” said the Proteas’ latest stand-in captain, Wiaan Mulder.
Senokwane accompanied the SA A squad on its recent tour to the West Indies, where scores of 28, 23 and 19 were probably below expectations, but he will hope that a week working under the tutelage of Proteas batting coach Ashwell Prince will have him mentally attuned for the second Test starting at Queens Sports Club at 10am this morning.
I’m a very simple guy, hopefully nice to watch. There’s not a lot of shots or extravagance.
— Lesego Senokwane
“I’m a very simple guy, hopefully nice to watch. There’s not a lot of shots or extravagance,” said Senokwane.
He is one of two debutants included in the Proteas starting XI for the second Test, with off spinner Prenelan Subrayen handed his Test cap by Keshav Maharaj in a special ceremony on Friday night. “I’ve known Keshav for a long time, we’ve played together for the Dolphins, I see him not just as a friend but as a role model,” said the 31-year-old.
Like Senokwane, Subrayen’s selection is reward for good form domestically last summer for the KZN Dolphins. He was the second highest wicket-taker in the Four-Day Series with 34, just one behind leg-spinner Shaun von Berg.
Kwena Maphaka has been dropped, after struggling in the first Test, with the Proteas opting to use two front-line spinners, meaning a recall for Senuran Muthusamy, who last featured against Bangladesh in October.
Mulder, who is captaining the side after Maharaj picked up a groin strain last week, said he didn’t expect conditions at the Queens Sports Club to change much from what they were in the first Test — which SA won comprehensively.
“There is less moisture than last week, and picking the two spinners is for longevity,” said Mulder. “If you look at how the pitch played it flattened out quite nicely and having two options, an off-spinner in Subs and a left arm spinner in Sen covers all the bases, along with the three seamers.”
Mulder didn’t hesitate when he was asked to captain the side, saying it was the fulfilment of a long-held goal. “I did it quite a lot when I was younger. I’ve been travelling a lot (and not played) for my domestic team (the Lions). I’ve had conversations with (Lions coach) Russell Domingo because I really want to do it.”
He said he would be leaning heavily on the other experienced players in the side, including Tony de Zorzi, who was captain of the SA U19 side at the 2016 junior World Cup, which Mulder was part of and included wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne.
“The biggest thing for me is that everyone contributes. I’m the guy with the armband for this game but there are so many leaders in the team and they will make my job so much easier,” said Mulder.
SA team for second Test against Zimbabwe — Lesego Senokwane, Tony de Zorzi, Wiaan Mulder (capt), David Bedingham, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Dewald Brevis, Kyle Verreynne, Senuran Muthusamy, Corbin Bosch, Codi Yusuf, Prenelan Subrayen.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.