South Africa and England face tricky decisions ahead of First Test

South Africa and England both face tricky decisions ahead of the first Test of a four-match series, starting at SuperSport Park on Wednesday. South Africa have to decide whether to play star all-rounder Jacques Kallis, who is recovering from a rib injury.

If he plays it will almost certainly be as a batsman only, which would probably mean South Africa going into the Test with only four recognised bowlers. England, too, must decide whether they can afford to pick only four bowlers, especially as two of the likely attack, James Anderson and Ryan Sidebottom, have only bowled in one innings after recovering from injuries. If England want to ensure back-up for the specialist bowlers, they will have to hand a first cap to all-rounder Luke Wright at the expense of a specialist batsman.

The preparation of both teams, and the opportunity to provide a workout for players whose places are up for debate, was frustrated by heavy rain on Monday which cut short England’s net practice and prevented the South Africans from going outdoors.

South Africa: Graeme Smith (captain), Ashwell Prince, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Mark Boucher, Paul Harris, Morne Morkel, Dale Steyn, Makhaya Ntini, Ryan McLaren, Wayne Parnell, Alviro Petersen, Friedel de Wet.

England: Andrew Strauss (captain), Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Ian Bell, Luke Wright, Matt Prior, Graeme Swann, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Ryan Sidebottom, Graham Onions, Liam Plunkett, Steven Davies, Adil Rashid.