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Proteas ponder fifth seamer in Jo'Burg

South Africa and India consider all-pace attacks for Wanderers Test as tourists look to avoid series whitewash

The prospect of a green pitch at The Wanderers means South Africa are seriously considering a five-man seam attack for the third and final Test against India.

Holding an unassailable 2-0 series lead, Proteas skipper Faf du Plessis said on Tuesday that a fifth seam bowler may be included on a Johannesburg surface that was described as a "green mamba" earlier this week by the venue's curator.

South Africa have fielded four quicks in each of the first two Tests of the series; Vernon Philander's development as a batsman has led to his shift up to No.7 in the order, leaving room for three more quicks and left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj.

And despite Maharaj's good form since he debuted in Australia last summer, du Plessis said conditions may lead to the spinner being left out.

"It is definitely something we are speaking about in our selection, it’s an option," the skipper said, with India captain Virat Kohli adding his side would also consider an all-pace attack.

"The wicket looks like it should be a normal Wanderers wicket. We'll just see what the pitch looks like and if there is the same amount of grass on it.

"Keshav is an extremely talented spinner and we are very lucky to have him. If we do think of leaving of him out, you have to be 100 per cent sure that we have enough."

With pace-bowling allrounder Chris Morris on paternity leave, the contenders to replace Maharaj should he be dropped are Theunis de Bruyn (primarily a batsman who bowls some handy seamers) and bowling allrounder Andile Phehlukwayo, who batted at No.9 – below Philander – in their Boxing Day clash with Zimbabwe.

It means the decision will hinge on whether the Proteas want to strengthen their batting by including de Bruyn, bolster their pace attack by opting for Phehlukwayo, or sticking with Maharaj, who took 48 wickets at 23 last year.

"It's whether we go for an allrounder to give that option from a batting and bowling point of view, or play seven batters and four seamers," du Plessis added.

The make-up of the South Africa XI will be of interest to the Australian team ahead of their four-Test series against the Proteas, starting on March 1.

The South Africans have picked just five frontline batsmen in the first two Tests – Dean Elgar, Aiden Markram, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers and du Plessis – followed by wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock at No.6, Philander at No.7 and then four bowlers. Maharaj, Morne Morkel, Kagiso Rabada and Dale Steyn joined Philander in the attack for the first Test before Lungi Ngidi replaced the injured Steyn for the second Test and promptly won the player-of-the-match award with figures of 6-39 in the second innings.

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Batsman Temba Bavuma has been overlooked for the first two Tests and was this week ruled out of the Wanderers clash due to a finger injury, but he's expected to recover in time for the series against Australia.

And with de Kock currently short of runs with the bat – he's not passed 50 in his past 12 Test innings – the current strategy of picking just five frontline batsmen could be revisited for the Australia series.

But du Plessis is backing the immensely talented left-hander, who drew comparisons with Adam Gilchrist following his match-winning century against Australia in Hobart last summer, to find his best form.

"The key for someone like him is not to overanalyse or overcomplicate things," du Plessis said.

"It happens when a guy goes one or two or five Tests without scoring runs, you tend to want to overanalyse. But with Quinny that's the last thing you want to do.

"His biggest asset is that he is a free player and when he is on, he completely takes the pressure back onto the opposition.

"From the team perspective, the language we speak to him is to just keep having the positive intent and when he gets the opportunity to score runs, that he cashes in.

"He will be very hungry to put in a play in this last Test."

POSSIBLE TEAMS

South Africa: Dean Elgar, Aiden Markram, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis, Quinton de Kock (wk), Theunis de Bruyn/Andile Phehlukwayo/Keshav Maharaj, Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada, Morne Morkel, Lungi Ngidi

India: Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan/KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Hardik Pandya, Parthiv Patel/Dinesh Karthik (wk), Bhuvneshwar Kumar/Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah

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