Theunis de Bruyn will replace Faf du Plessis in first Test, confirms Domingo

24-year-old youngster Theunis de Bruyn is all set to replace skipper Fad du Plessis for the first Test against England at Lords. Head coach Russell Domingo has kept the promising talent as his first option.

The hard-hitting batsman was on the brink of a Test call-up for some time and was finally given a chance in the squad for the Test series against Sri Lanka. Unfortunately enough, De Bruyn did not get his first Test cap in that series but his first opportunity came in the third Test against the Kiwis.

Theunis failed to make his first match memorable as he went for a duck in the first inning. He fell victim to a run out in the second inning scoring just 12 runs. South Africa drew the match at Hamilton and went on to lift the trophy in a 1-0 win over the black caps.

He had to move out of his comfort zone at bat at number 3 against New Zealand which is always a tough task for a debutant. But the absence of Du Plessis will allow him to play lower down the order which is his area of strength. SA A captain, Aiden Markram, is another option available as a replacement for Faf, but Russell Domingo is set to go with Theunis de Bruyn.

What Domingo had to say:

‘Theunis played the one match in New Zealand. As you know there’s been a sense of fairness to players,’ said the Proteas coach to the media on Monday.

‘We haven’t really discarded a player after one Test match. So at the moment he would be in line and should be ahead of a guy like Aiden [Markram]in the pecking order and of course, Heino [Kuhn] will come in at the top of the order to replace Stephen Cook.’ said Domingo.

Faf du Plessis is currently in South Africa to provide his wife with some mental support after she gave birth to their first child. Faf and his wife Imari became the parents of a baby girl and it was reported to be a difficult birth.