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AB to open batting in Durban

Cape Town - AB de Villiers will open the batting as well as take the wicketkeeping gloves in the Proteas' T20 clash against Pakistan in Durban on Friday, according to the Beeld website.

With De Villiers also keeping wicket, there will be no place in the starting XI for the young Quinton de Kock, who wore the gloves in the recent T20 series against New Zealand.

De Villiers will open the batting with Titans team-mate Henry Davids, with coach Russell Domingo and captain Faf du Plessis keen to establish some selection consistency amongst the top order.

Du Plessis is likely to bat at No 3, with David Miller, Justin Ontong and Farhaan Behardien in the middle order.

Left-arm spinner Robin Peterson is struggling with a sore neck and looks unlikely to feature. The expectation is for part-time spinners Davids, Ontong and Du Plessis to be utilised on Friday, with quickies Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Chris Morris, Rory Kleinveldt and newcomer Kyle Abbott used as frontline bowlers.

The second and final T20 will be played at Centurion on Sunday, with a five-match ODI series starting in Bloemfontein on March 10.

Teams:

South Africa (from): Henry Davids, AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis (captain), Justin Ontong, Farhaan Behardien, David Miller, Ryan McLaren, Chris Morris, Rory Kleinveldt, Kyle Abbott, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Aaron Phangiso, Robin Peterson, Quinton de Kock.

Pakistan (from): Mohammad Hafeez (captain), Azid Ali, Kamran Akmal, Nasir Jamshed, Shahid Afridi, Umar Akmal, Umar Gul, Zulfiqar Babar, Ahmed Shehzad, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Irfan, Saeed Ajmal, Shoaib Malik, Umar Amin, Wahab Riaz.


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