SA vs Eng 1st Test - Kallis Fit to Bat in Series Opener

Centurion: Speculation about the composition of the South African team for the first Test against England ended Monday when the South African selectors reduced the squad for the match to 12 after being convinced that Jacques Kallis was fit to play.

All-rounder Kallis, who bats at No. 4 for South Africa, may not be able to bowl in the match which begins on Wednesday at Supersport Park in Pretoria as he is not being fully recovered from a broken rib suffered a couple of months ago.

But the Proteas' highest Test run-scorer was pronounced fit to bat after getting through several practice sessions without discomfort at a national team camp in Potchefstroom at the weekend. Kallis' recuperation had included spending time in an oxygen chamber to hasten the healing process.

Three players batsman Alviro Petersen, all-rounder Ryan McLaren and left-arm seamer Wayne Parnell were on Monday released to play for their club teams this week. The only reserve player still with the Proteas is uncapped fast bowler Friedel de Wet. He provides cover for fast bowler Dale Steyn, who has been hampered by a hamstring strain for a couple of weeks.

Ntini has taken 388 Test wickets, and holds a slew of South African bowling records. One he does not possess is for taking the most Test wickets. That record belongs to now-retired Shaun Pollock, who claimed 421 wickets in his 108 Tests.

Ntini detractors say that his Test career does not have long to run, but should he start well this week after a nine-month break from Test cricket, he could be retained for South Africa's tours of India and the West Indies next year, and he would then have a good chance of improving on Pollock's tally, which is the eighth best in Test history.

As it stands, the release of the three squad members means that the Proteas will rely on a three-pronged pace attack for the first Test, in the shape of Ntini, Steyn and Morne Morkel. Morkel will be replacing his brother Albie, who played in South Africa's last Test, an innings victory over Australia at Newlands in March.

Meanwhile the England management is still pondering the make-up of their team, although the widely held view is that it will pick five batsmen, wicketkeeper Matt Prior and five bowlers. The five-strong bowling unit could contain two all-rounders in Luke Wright and Stuart Broad, spinner Graeme Swann and two more seamers --probably James Anderson and Graham Onions.

Anderson had another good spell of bowling in a "middle" practice in Pretoria on Monday and seems likely to play.

Meanwhile England have called uncapped Kent off-spinner James Tredwell into their squad as back-up for Graeme Swann for the series. Swann missed some of the earlier limited overs matches against South Africa with a side strain. His replacement then was leg-spinner Adil Rashid, who conceded plenty of runs.

Going back to February, it has played 12 Tests. After losing a five-match series against the West Indies 1-0 in the Caribbean, it won both Tests against the same opposition at home, before pulling off its second successive home Ashes victory, taking the series 2-1 by beating Australia at the Oval in August.

As for the Proteas, a year ago they started a three-match series against Ricky Ponting's Australia which they won 2-1 thanks in part to the spectacular emergence of batting talent JP Duminy. That was South Africa's first Test win in Australia, but Ponting's men responded by beating the Proteas 2-1 in the return series in South Africa, which ended in March.

Team news

South Africa: The Proteas team management is holding out hope that Kallis will be able to bowl in the Pretoria match too, but that might be considered risky. The second Test in Durban starts on December 26, and Kallis should be ready to bowl by then.

Squad (likely): Graeme Smith (capt), Ashwell Prince, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Mark Boucher (wk), Paul Harris, Morne Morkel, Dale Steyn, Makhaya Ntini

England: England coach Andy Flower said on Monday that Tredwell, who has been part of the England Performance group currently touring South Africa, was insurance for later in the series should Swann's injury problems return. Swann bowled well in his side's two warm-up matches in East London, taking seven wickets for 130 runs in two innings. In the first match his figures were an impressive 6/55.

Squad (likely): Andrew Strauss (capt), Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Matt Prior (wk), Luke Wright, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Ryan Sidebottom, James Tredwell.

Pitch and conditions
It's been damp on the Highveld in recent weeks, and it shows. With 24 hours to go until the start of play, the pitch is green and seething, and providing all the more reason for England to put their faith in three specialist seamers, and trust Bell to provide an extra measure of technical expertise with the bat.

Stats and trivia

• England have never yet lost a Test match at Centurion.
• England won a thrilling final by two wickets, but subsequent relevations about Hansie Cronje's links with bookmakers soured the achievement.
• Nevertheless, South Africa's record at the ground is devastating. In 14 matches they have won 11, drawn two, and lost just that one match to England, and of those wins, four have been by an innings.

Match facts
Wednesday December 16 - Sunday December 20, 2009
Start time: 10:30 local (08:30 GMT)