Proteas turn to Tahir
Leg-spinner in contention for Test debut at the Wanderers
Last Updated: January 8, 2010 8:06pm
Tahir: surprise call-up
South Africa have included uncapped duo Imran Tahir and Wayne Parnell in a 15-man squad for the final Test against England.
South Africa v England, 4th Test
8am, January 14, Sky Sports 1/HD1
"This is a must-win Test for us, and we have covered all our bases as far as the composition of our attack is concerned."
Mike Proctor Quotes of the week
The Proteas trail 1-0 in the series after narrowly failing to force victory in the third Test, England's last pair of Graeme Swann and Graham Onions seeing out the final 17 balls to secure a stalemate.
The fourth Test starts at the Wanderers on January 14 and former Pakistan A leg-spinner Tahir is an especially eye-catching addition at a venue where slow bowling can be effective.
He and left-arm paceman Parnell join the XI on duty in third Test, plus batsman Alviro Petersen and seamer Ryan McLaren.
Parnell, 20, is a limited-overs regular for South Africa but has yet to play a Test despite having been named in several squads.
Varied career
At 30, Lahore-born Tahir has had a varied career with Hampshire, Middlesex, Yorkshire and South African domestic outfit Easterns - among others.
Friedel de Wet, third seamer in Cape Town, is retained despite a back problem which kept him out of action for most of the final day at Newlands.
He is to have a scan on the injury to determine his chances of featuring in the series finale.
Explaining the make-up of the enlarged squad, South Africa convenor of selectors Mike Proctor said: "This is a must-win Test for us, and we have covered all our bases as far as the composition of our attack is concerned."
South Africa squad: GC Smith (captain), HM Amla, MV Boucher (wkt), AB de Villiers, F de Wet, JP Duminy, PL Harris, JH Kallis, R McLaren, M Morkel, WD Parnell, AN Petersen, AG Prince, DW Steyn, MI Tahir
Imran Tahir
Wayne Parnell
