South Africa Ready to Take on Zimbabwe Before the World Test Championship Final

South Africa is ready to take on Zimbabwe in a four-day Test in England on June 3. The match will serve as a warm-up for the South African cricket team ahead of the all-important World Test Championship Final and will be played at Arundel Castle Cricket Ground in Sussex.

It has been a while since South Africa played in the longest format of the game. They last faced Pakistan and won the series 2-0 at home. This Test will provide the much-needed practice they need to prepare for red-ball cricket against the mighty Aussies.

Zimbabwe, on the other hand, are enjoying their run against top Test-playing nations at the moment. They recently played a four-day Test against England, their first on English soil in the last two decades. This was a historic breakthrough for Zimbabwe cricket, despite losing the match by an innings and 45 runs.

They still had plenty of takeaways from the loss, including the experience of playing against a top Test team in their own backyard. Brian Bennett's fighting ton in the first innings and Sikandar Raza’s last-ditch effort with the bat in the second innings were the highlights of the Test for Zimbabwe fans.

Zimbabwe, however, will be without some of their key players when they face South Africa, including Sikandar Raza, Blessing Muzarabani, and Richard Ngarava. They will still have the services of stars like Sean Williams, Bennett, Victor Nyauchi, Clive Madande, and Craig Ervine.

The Test doesn’t just serve South Africa—Zimbabwe will also aim to understand the full strength of the Proteas Test side. The Chevrons are set to host South Africa for a two-Test series in June-July, followed by another two-Test series against New Zealand.

South Africa Squad: Tony de Zorzi, Ryan Rickelton, Aiden Markram, Temba Bavuma (c), David Bedingham, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne, Wiaan Mulder, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Dane Paterson, Keshav Maharaj, Senuran Muthusamy.

Zimbabwe Squad: Craig Ervine (c), Brian Bennett, Tanaka Chivanga, Ben Curran, Alex Falao, Clive Madande, Wessly Madhevere, Tanunurwa Makoni, Wellington Masakadza, Vincent Masekesa, Newman Nyamhuri, Victor Nyauchi, Tafadzwa Tsiga, Nicholas Welch, Sean Williams.