Proteas know pitches will spin, but how much and how soon is a mystery

South Africa is still weighing up whether to start two or three front-line spinners for the first Test against Pakistan that starts in Lahore on Sunday.

Though Pakistan’s captain Shan Masood made clear his preference for spin-friendly pitches, the Proteas who will be led by Aiden Markram, still seemed unsure about how much spin would be on offer at the Gaddafi Stadium.

“We still want to look at the pitch again, and then the coach and I, along with the convenor back home, will make a final decision about the starting side,” said Markram on Saturday.

It implied a slight change of mind from what the Proteas were saying before their departure.

While there is no doubting the pitches for both Tests will spin, just how much and how early will determine, whether South Africa start all three of Senuran Muthusamy, Simon Harmer and Prenelan Muthusmay or just two of them.

Markram confirmed that, as the sole left-arm orthodox option, Muthusamy will start, with Keshav Maharaj only available for the second Test.

South Africa’s reluctance to confirm a starting XI, the day before the start has become the norm of late, is down to Pakistan’s coach Azhar Mahmood stating that pitches for two Tests wouldn’t be as spin-friendly as they were when Pakistan faced England late last year and the West Indies in January.

While they won against England, after losing the first Test, with Noman Ali and Sahid Khan sharing 39 wickets between them in the second and third Tests of that series, a loss to the West Indies, with Jomel Warrican taking nine wickets, has made the home side wary.

However, in contrast to his coach, captain Mahsood, knows exactly what he wants.

“Taking 20 wickets is more important for us. We don’t want to produce the kind of pitches we’ve had in Pakistan’s history where matches end in draws,” Mahsood said.

The history between the two teams shows Mahsood is right — of the nine Tests in Pakistan, four have ended in draws.

South Africa’s two series triumphs in that country resulted from winning one Test each in 1997 and 2007.

Picking only two front-line spinners wouldn’t necessarily damage the balance of the Proteas side. They already have three seamers in Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen and Wiaan Mulder, and could add the extra batter or even a fourth seam bowling option in Corbin Bosch, with Markram able to bowl some off spin too.

Among the batters, the debate will be about whether to start Dewald Brevis for his third Test or go with Tony de Zorzi as a replacement for Temba Bavuma. Brevis seems the natural choice.

“The way he bats he can change the course of a match so quickly, it’s an exciting option for us,” said Markram.

The series is the first in the new cycle of the World Test Championship for both teams.

The first ball will be bowled at 7am (SA time).