KG’s return for Australia Test in doubt as Proteas hold off on fitness call

Kagiso Rabada's readiness for the first Test against Australia remains uncertain after the South African fast bowler went through a long fitness and bowling session at Kingsmead in Durban, with the hosts keeping their decision on his availability open for as long as possible.

Two days before the match, Rabada did fitness drills and bowled off a run-up that grew steadily longer, Firdose Moonda reported for Cricinfo.

He took no part in the opening football warm-ups and catching drills and didn't bowl on the practice pitch at first. Anrich Nortje, who hasn't played a Test in more than three years, Marco Jansen and Corbin Bosch bowled first, watched by head coach Shukri Conrad and bowling coach Piet Botha.

Rabada arrived about half an hour later. He ran between cones, as in a fitness test, and stretched at length before moving to the practice pitch, where he watched Dane Paterson and Gerald Coetzee. He then went to an adjoining surface and began bowling with Botha standing in as wicketkeeper.

He started off two paces, built up to nine with a follow-through, and looked relaxed throughout. His pace was noticeably slower than in matches, which is to be expected given that he hasn't played competitively since the last day of May, at the Indian Premier League, and is coming back from a significant injury.

He last played a Test on South Africa's tour of Pakistan last October and missed the series against India with a rib injury. He is likely to be keen to make his mark in this cycle of the World Test Championship, having taken nine wickets in last year's final in June, when he was seen as the only genuine superstar in the title-winning side.

That view still holds at Kingsmead, where one onlooker remarked that he was the only South African the Australians would know. Offspinner Simon Harmer, who spoke to the media on Wednesday, confirmed it in gentler terms.

Harmer said everyone wanted Rabada to play – the spectators, his team-mates and the Australians – although he didn't know exactly where the bowler stood. He expected a decision to be made as close to the game as possible, adding that Rabada had shown season after season that he was a world-class player and would only make the team better.

South Africa won't, however, rush him back at all costs. With eight home Tests before early January and ten left in this World Test Championship cycle, the side will take a cautious approach and trust their remaining resources. Harmer said he hoped Rabada would feature in the first Test but that the team didn't want to risk a short-term gain for long-term damage.

Rabada is among the players from the preliminary squad retained for the Tests. Tony de Zorzi will miss the first match with a hamstring injury, while Lungi Ngidi, Kwena Maphaka and Ottneil Baartman are out of the entire series as they recover from hamstring problems of their own.