Cape Town - The Proteas’ strength and conditioning coach, Rob Walter, says the players will put in some “cricket time” during the 10-day lapse between the first and second Test matches against Pakistan.

The Proteas returned to their homes on Monday following their 211-run win over Pakistan at the Wanderers, and will meet up in Cape Town on Monday, February 11th to begin preparations for the second Test match.

“All the guys have been given specific schedules for the week,” Walter said. “In particular, the bowlers have been given a few days off and will begin bowling on Thursday and Friday in Cape Town, that counts for everyone, Dale (Steyn), Morne (Morkel), Vernon (Philander), Jacques (Kallis) and Robin (Peterson). In between, the rest of the players in the squad have been given gym strength and conditioning programmes to follow.

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“Rory (Kleinveldt) and Jacques (Rudolph) will be playing in the Sunfoil Series games for the Cape Cobras and  Titans this weekend.”

The main challenge for the Proteas’ management will be keeping the players, especially the bowlers, fresh for the back-to-back second and third Test matches.

“Yesterday (Sunday), and today (Monday) to a certain extent, were heavy bowling days for the bowlers so it is important for us to give them the adequate recovery period, but enough time to prepare properly for the upcoming back-to-back Test matches.

“The tricky part for us is that we don’t know whether or not the Test in Cape Town will go five days and, if it does, we need the bowlers fresh enough to deal with the short turnaround in time.”