Proteas coach Shukri close to finalising XI for WTC final

PROTEAS coach Shukri Conrad is keeping his cards close to his chest regarding the playing XI he will select for the World Test Championship final against Australia at Lord's next week.

- ONGAMA GCWABE

Right from the start of his Proteas coaching career, Conrad has made a name for himself with his bold selections and for confirming his playing XI well before the start of a Test match. However, this time around, the 58-year-old is yet to finalise the team.

He did, however, reveal that he has a good idea of how the XI will look and that he will wait until arriving at Lord's to further assess the conditions before making any confirmations. At present, one or two spots remain in question — specifically within the bowling attack. Will it be Lungi Ngidi or Dane Paterson who joins Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj and Wiaan Mulder?

"We're probably getting ever closer (to finalising the playing XI),” Conrad said on Tuesday.