Morris, Behardien return to Proteas set-up

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Chris Morris celebrates a wicket

Chris Morris and Farhaan Behardien return to Proteas squad for the Australia limited-overs series in November. 

The Australia ODI series starts in November with the first ODI starting on 4 November. A once-off T20 follows on 17 November.

The squad announcement of both squads took place on Wednesday, headlining the return of Morris to the national set-up. Behardien and Dwaine Pretorius also received a call-up, the Proteas opting for a more experienced lineup.

Morris was sidelined by injury for the most recent series against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe but had been a regular selection for the Proteas in white-ball cricket previously, having played in 14 ODIs in 2017 and all five against India at the start of this year.

There are also recalls to the Proteas squad for batting all-rounders, Farhaan Behardien and Dwaine Pretorius.

‘Chris confirmed his fitness with his excellent form for the Multiply Titans in the first two rounds of the 4-Day Domestic Series,’ commented Cricket South Africa (CSA) National Selection Panel (NSP) convener Linda Zondi.

‘He is the leading wicket-taker in this competition to date and also adds value as a batting option in the lower-order.

‘With Wiaan Mulder ruled out at the moment through injury we need to look at our resources as far as batting all-rounder options are concerned and Dwaine, in particular, fits into this category.

‘We have also lost a lot of experience in our specialist batting order through the injuries to Hashim Amla and JP Duminy, and Farhaan gives us another experienced option in the top order.

‘We feel that we got quite a lot out of the Zimbabwe series, notably the form of Imran Tahir and the return of Dale Steyn to his very best. Heinrich Klaasen took his chances well both with bat and behind the stumps and the same applies to a lesser extent to Reeza Hendricks in a series in which batting was not easy.

‘We are confident that our Vision 2019 strategy for the ICC World Cup is progressing along the right lines,’ concluded Zondi.

Proteas ODI squad: Faf du Plessis (Titans, capt), Farhaan Behardien (Titans), Quinton de Kock (Titans), Reeza Hendricks (Highveld Lions), Imran Tahir  (Dolphins), Heinrich Klaasen (Titans), Aiden Markram (Titans), David Miller (Dolphins), Chris Morris (Titans), Lungisani Ngidi (Titans), Andile Phehlukwayo (Dolphins), Dwaine Pretorius  (Highveld Lions), Kagiso Rabada (Highveld Lions), Tabraiz Shamsi (Titans), Dale Steyn (Titans).

Photo: Lee Warren/Gallo Images