October 18, 2002	Friday	Sha'aban 11, 1423

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EAST LONDON (South Africa), Oct 17: Mark Boucher has warned Bangladesh to brace themselves for the full brunt of South Africa’s assault in the first Test, which starts here Friday.

The South Africans were not tested in winning all three One-day Internationals against the visitors and they are expected to dominate the two Test matches against cricket’s minnows.

Bangladesh have played 13 Tests, and the only one they have not lost was a rain-affected draw against Zimbabwe in Dhaka last year.

However, South African captain Boucher declined to accept that his team stood on the brink of an emphatic victory.

“You’ve got to respect their international status, and we want to show the same ruthlessness against them that we would show against any other side,” Boucher said.

“We don’t expect any favours when we go to the sub-continent, and we want to make it difficult for them in our conditions. We want to bowl at them on bouncy pitches, for instance.”

The series seemed to present the South Africans with the best possible opportunity to break some Test records, another prospect Boucher was not keen on exploring.

Broader South African interest in the match would seem to concern individual performances, particularly that of debutant batsman Martin van Jaarsveld, who announced himself on the international stage by scoring a bright 42 — featuring nine fours — against Bangladesh in the third one-dayer in Kimberley on Oct 9.

The team also includes veteran opening batsman Gary Kirsten, who has been dropped from South Africa’s one day squad, and fast bowler Mornantau Hayward, who will play his first Test since the second Test against Australia in Melbourne last December.

Orthodox left-arm spinner Claude Henderson was a late replacement for left arm wrist spinner Paul Adams, who injured his back in a domestic first class match at the weekend.

Boucher took over the captaincy from all rounder Shaun Pollock after Pollock was ruled out of the match with a knee injury.

An injury to Pollock led to wicket-keeper/batsman Boucher captaining South Africa in three home Tests against Australia last season.

Friday’s match will be East London’s inaugural Test, with Buffalo Park becoming the 10th ground in South Africa and the 85th worldwide to stage a Test match.

Buffalo Park is Boucher’s home ground, and he and Andre Vos, who captained the Springboks against Canada in 2000 in East London’s inaugural South African rugby union international in 2000, were born in the small resort on South Africa’s east coast. Both attended Selborne College in East London.

Bangladesh’s spirits will have been lifted by a 100-run win over a South African Country Districts XI in a four-day tour match in Bedford Tuesday.

Teams:

South Africa: Gary Kirsten, Herschelle Gibbs, Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis, Ashwell Prince, Martin van Jaarsveld, Mark Boucher (captain), David Terbrugge, Makhaya Ntini, Mornantau Hayward, Claude Henderson.

Bangladesh (from): Al-Shahriar, Tapash Baisya, Habibul Bashar, Anwar Hossain, Sanwar Hossain, Tushar Imran, Manjurul Islam, Rafiqul Islam, Talha Jubair, Alok Kapali, Khaled Mahmud, Khaled Mashud (captain), Javed Omar, Mohammad Rafique, Hannan Sarkar.

Umpires: Daryl Harper (Australia) and Russell Tiffin (Zimbabwe).

TV umpire: Shahid Wadvalla (South Africa).

Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (Sri Lanka).—Reuters