Marco Jansen rested, Breetzke gets maiden call-up for South Africa’s 2-match Test series against West Indies

South Africa have announced a 16-man strong squad for the two-match Test series against the West Indies, which starts on August 7 in Trinidad and Tobago. Twenty-five-year-old batter Matthew Breetzke has received a maiden Test call-up, while all-rounder Marco Jansen, who has played plenty of cricket lately, has been rested.

Breetzke scored 322 runs at an average of 46 in the last domestic four-day season in South Africa. He's also seen among one of the leaders in that age group, having taken the armband for South Africa 'A' against India 'A' in December last year.

Meanwhile, wicketkeeper-batter Ryan Rickelton also returns for the first time since March 2023.

"We are looking forward to returning to Test cricket after a busy period of limited-overs cricket over the past few months," head coach Shukri Conrad said in a statement. "This tour is extremely important for us as we aim to improve our standing in the ICC World Test Championship. We have therefore selected our strongest possible squad and look forward to strong performances in the Caribbean."

He added:

"We have one new face in the squad, Matthew Breetzke, who is selected on the back of an excellent past season. The decision to rest Marco Jansen was taken to allow for a conditioning period aimed at ensuring optimal physical and mental well-being given the season-long workloads. Half of our squad will be part of a camp to be held in Durban next week."

Temba Bavuma will lead the team which includes most of the members of the recent 2024 T20 World Cup runner-up squad.

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South Africa's squad for West Indies Tests

Temba Bavuma (captain), David Bedingham, Matthew Breetzke, Nandre Burger, Gerald Coetzee, Tony de Zorzi, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Dane Paterson, Dane Piedt, Kagiso Rabada, Tristan Stubbs, Ryan Rickelton, and Kyle Verreynne.

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