The betting markets for an upcoming Test match have been defined after South Africa captain Faf du Plessis confirmed Pieter Malan will debut and Rassie van der Dussen will be retained for this week's second Test against England at Newlands in Cape Town.
Keegan Petersen had been called into the squad as cover for the injured Aiden Markram and was in line for a spot in the playing XI. Du Plessis, however, has insisted Malan will play his first ever Test instead.
Van der Dussen, who debut in South Africa's first Test victory over England in Centurion last week, will keep his place in the XI despite the return to fitness of Temba Bavuma. Bavuma played ahead of van der Dussen before getting injured.
South Africa Top Batsman vs England – 2nd Test
| Batter | Odds |
| Faf du Plessis | 3.50 |
| Quinton de Kock | 3.50 |
| Dean Elgar | 4.00 |
| Pieter Malan | 4.75 |
| Zubayr Hamza | 5.00 |
What was said about Malan and van der Dussen
“We feel its the right thing to do to stick with Rassie. As a player, you feel like you get a bit confidence when you get an extended run – runs or no runs. Luckily he scored some runs in the first Test,” said du Plessis.
“A big part of international cricket is the mental aspect of belonging. Rassie has got a real composure to him and a presence when he bats. He ticks all the right boxes.
“If you’re not finding yourself starting now, it’s about weight of runs.
“Temba was injured before the start of the series but it was a talking point even before the series – whose positions do we need to make sure there is more competition for?
“It’s about finding guys that are knocking on the door all the time to push us to a level where we can take this batting line-up to win games of cricket consistently. Temba will be the first to say that his performance over the last while wasn’t where it needed to be. Weight of runs would be the way back into the team, like it would for anyone.”
The Proteas won the first Test in Centurion by 107 runs and are offered at 1.73 to win the second Test at Newlands as well.
