KARACHI, Sept 26: Less than 24 hours after their arrival in the metropolis, South African cricketers will engage in serious business as they begin their tour with a three-day match against Patron’s XI at the NBP Sports Complex on Thursday.

The match will serve as a build-up for the opening Test

of the two-match series star-

ting at the National Stadium from Monday.

The contest will be return to normal cricket after hosts South Africa failed to make the semi-finals of the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship.

South African skipper Graeme Smith and coach Mickey Arthur will be testing new boys like left-handed batsman Jean Paul Duminy, left-arm spinner Paul Harris and new fast bowling sensation Morne Morkel.

On the other hand, it will be a good opportunity for the left-handed opener Taufiq Umar, Asim Kamal to come up with some worthwhile performance. Young batsmen Khurram Manzoor and Pakistan U-19 player Ahmed Shahzad, wicket-keeper Sarfraz Ahmed and leg-spinner Mansoor Amjad will also be the hosts’ players to watch.

Test umpires Saleem Badar and Shakeel Khan will supervise the match while Islam Khan will be the reserve umpire.

In the meantime, the South African team cancelled their training session because of tiredness.

Teams (from):

Patron’s XI: Taufiq Umar (captain), Khurram Manzoor, Ahmed Shahzad, Asim Kamal, Babar Naeem, Shahid Yousuf, Sarfraz Ahmed (wicket-keeper), Rizwan Ahmed, Junaid Zia, Adnan Raza, Anwar Ali Khan, Umar Amin, Uzair-ul-Haq, Mansoor Amjad and Zohaib Khan.

South Africa: Graeme Smith (captain), Hashim Amla, Mark Boucher (wicket-keeper), AB de Villers, Jean Paul Duminy, Herchelle Gibbs, Paul Harris, Jacques Kallis, Morne Morkel, Andre Nel, Makhaya Ntini, Shaun Pollock, Ashwell Prince and Dale Steyn.

Umpires: Salim Badar and Shakeel Khan.—APP