Durban, Oct 6 (IANS) South Africa will delay a decision on Kagiso Rabada’s availability for the first Test against Australia, with batting coach Ashwell Prince indicating that the fast bowler will be given every opportunity to prove his fitness before the series opener on Friday.

Rabada has not played competitive cricket since the Indian Premier League in May and has been recovering from an aggravated hamstring injury that also ruled him out of South Africa’s recent ODI series.

The fast bowler returned to action in a two-day intra-squad match on Sunday and Monday, completing his first meaningful workload in several months.

"He came through quite nicely and bowled really well,” Prince told reporters here in Durban. “He’ll continue to be involved in training over the next few days leading up to the match."

Rabada was named in South Africa’s extended 18-man squad and is now part of a 17-player group after Tony de Zorzi was withdrawn with a hamstring problem of his own.

The Proteas had initially planned to reduce the squad to 15 but opted to retain the larger group, particularly to ensure they have enough fast-bowling options available, as seven quicks now remain within the squad.

"From the bowler’s point of view, domestically there’s T20 cricket going on at the moment so we feel that they’ll be better served here, where they will bowl more red balls in training,” Prince said. “And if they’re not in the Test lineup, then they can continue bowling during the Test match in the nets, just to get the loads up."

The greater concern surrounding Rabada is not simply the hamstring but his lack of sustained red-ball cricket. His last Test appearance came on South Africa’s tour of Pakistan almost a year ago. He subsequently missed the series against India because of a rib injury and has not played first-class cricket since.

South Africa therefore want to be certain that Rabada can handle the demands of a Test match, particularly the workload involved in bowling long spells.

"Fair to say that he’s obviously not going to be at 100% straight away, but he is looking good," Prince said. “He will train with the squad for the rest of the week, and we will leave a call to be made as late as possible.”

South Africa are similarly keeping their batting combination under wraps. Prince said the team has largely settled on its top six but refused to reveal the final composition. The No. 3 position remains of particular interest, with Tristan Stubbs, Wiaan Mulder and David Bedingham among the possible options. Uncapped batter Marques Ackerman has also emerged as a contender after a strong domestic season.

“He’s obviously played really well in that position (No. 3) as well, and can bat in that position. We have a very good idea of who’s going to slot in there,” Prince said.

“I’ve always been a fan of his. And to his credit, he’s done what any player who wants to play Test cricket needs to do: bang the door down by weight of runs. He’s an attacking player. He likes to move the game along. He’s played very well, he’s got a lot of experience and there’s an appetite, not just for him but for a lot of players within our domestic structures to want to be involved in the Test squad.”

The Australia series will mark South Africa’s return to home Test cricket since their World Test Championship triumph over Australia at Lord’s in June last year. South Africa currently sit second in the 2025-27 WTC standings and have 10 Tests remaining in the cycle, eight at home through January and two away against Sri Lanka.

--IANS

vi/bc