Proteas on debut: Who are De Zorzi and Coetzee?

The Proteas new era will see Western Province captain Tony de Zorzi and Gerald Coetzee make their debuts at Centurion.

Play begins on Tuesday, 28 February in Pretoria where the Proteas will bat against the West Indies.

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South Africa will feature a new captain in Temba Bavuma and welcome back batsman Keegan Petersen, wicketkeeper Heinrich Klaasen and spinner Senuran Muthusamy.

Who is Tony de Zorzi?

But all eyes will be on debutant Tony de Zorzi.

De Zorzi gets his chance ahead of Ryan Rickleton and will bat at number three. He plays out of Newlands but is a former Titans player so Centurion will not be a problem for him.

The left-handed batsman rose to prominence when he made a triple ton in November at Newlands against the Knights, which co-incidentally featured Gerald Coetzee.

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His record-breaking unbeaten 304 put him on the map for his debut.

More recently, he has struggled making nine, 13 and 18 in the domestic long-format competition. That goes against his overall numbers this season. De Zorzi averages over 100 and is the leading run-scorer in the competition.

Many might not remember that he also captained South Africa Under-19 at the junior World Cup in Bangladesh back in 2016. The team didn’t perform and ended down in 11th place.

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Coetzeea also on debut

Coetzee debuts as well after edging Lungi Ngidi for a place in the starting lineup.

He travelled with the Proteas in December but didn’t feature. Coetzee has made his intentions in red-ball cricket well-known.

“Greatness is measured by Test cricket… because it’s the hardest format, which makes it the most rewarding,” said Coetzee.

“So, for me, Test cricket is a priority. It is where I want to excel the most because that’s where greatness is measured. T20 cricket is great fun and helps with the financial benefits, but I think the cricket purist in me just wants to prioritise Test cricket,” he told IOL.

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Proteas: Dean Elgar, Aiden Markram, Tony de Zorzi, Temba Bavuma (captain), Keegan Petersen, Heinrich Klaasen, Senuran Muthusamy, Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada, Gerald Coetzee, Anrich Nortje

West Indies: Kraigg Brathwaite, Tangenarine Chanderpaul, Raymon Reifer, Kyle Mayers, Roston Chase, Joshua da Silva, Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Kemar Roach, Shannon Gabriel

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