Anrich Nortje closes in on a Test return in Durban after three years away

Anrich Nortje is in line for his first Test in more than three years as South Africa cut an 18-man group to 15 for the series opener against Australia in Durban

The fast bowler has not played red-ball cricket since the home win over West Indies in 2023, when back and hip problems pushed him towards a career in the shorter formats. He is expected to be included when the hosts name their final squad for the first Test at Kingsmead, which begins on Friday.

His recall has been forced as much as chosen. Seamers Ottneil Baartman, Kwena Maphaka and Lungi Ngidi were all left out of the preliminary squad with hamstring injuries, and Kagiso Rabada is still working back from a right hamstring problem picked up during the one-day series against the same opponents.

Nortje, 32, has spent the build-up rebuilding the kind of workload a Test match demands. "It's been quite a bit of a focus for me to try to execute skills with the red ball, to build loads gradually and, in the right way, try to get the overs up," he said.

Three years away from the red ball

Nortje last appeared in a Test against West Indies in early 2023, a match South Africa won and in which he took 5-36 in the first innings. It remains his most recent first-class outing of any kind.

He has played 19 Tests since his debut against India in October 2019, taking 70 wickets at 26.71 with a best of 6-56. Few South African bowlers of the past decade have been quicker; he has regularly bowled above 145kph.

"Growing up, it's the format you want to play," Nortje said of Test cricket. "It's the motivation when you train."

A pace attack picked apart by hamstrings

South Africa named their preliminary squad on 28 September, and the three seamers missing from it tell their own story. Baartman, Maphaka and Ngidi are all working through hamstring rehabilitation.

Rabada was named despite his own hamstring injury, with his match fitness to be judged rather than assumed. Head coach Shukri Conrad said the larger bowling group gave the selectors "flexibility to cover all bases".

That leaves an attack still being assembled four days out, with Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Gerald Coetzee and Dane Paterson the other quicks in the group.

An extended build-up in Durban

The squad assembled in Durban on 1 October, unusually early for a home Test, and the schedule since has been built around answering selection questions.

"We've selected a preliminary squad because we have an extended build-up to the first Test, with the group getting together in Durban on 1 October," Conrad said when the 18 were announced.

"We'll have a couple of training days, a two-day intra-squad match and scenario-based training, which will give us an opportunity to assess the group," he added. That intra-squad match began on Sunday, and the 15 are due to be confirmed before the Test starts.

Uncapped batter Marques Ackerman is the other notable name in the group, rewarded for his captaincy and his runs for South Africa A.

What a recall would mean

Nortje has been careful not to treat his place as settled, but he has not hidden what the prospect means either. "There's that bit of extra X-factor that comes out, or fire that comes out, and energy that comes out," he said of the longer format.

He returns to a side that has moved on without him. "The guys have grown quite a bit. They've played a lot and they've done really well. Hopefully, I can add on to that."

"Guys want to do well, and everyone wants to perform," he said. "It is a big series."

Three Tests against an old rival

South Africa hold the World Test Championship title, and this is the first red-ball tour by Australia since 2018.

Three Tests follow in quick succession, Durban first and then Gqeberha and Cape Town later in the month. Australia come in off a drawn tour match against a Cricket South Africa Invitation XI in Potchefstroom.

South Africa are due to name their final 15 before the first Test begins at Kingsmead on Friday.

Catch the match live updates, highlights, and full match coverage on CricRadio. Get fast, accurate, and ad-free updates throughout the game. Download the CricRadio app from the Play Store to stay connected. You can also get the live scores of cricket series directly on the CricRadio website for real-time coverage.