10-man South Africa elect to bat against England in third Test
Dane Vilas, who had to rush in to replace Quinton de Kock, reached venue after South African openers took field.
Johannesburg: South Africa won the toss and decided to bat in the third Test against England at the Wanderers Stadium on Thursday.
Wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock was ruled out of the South African team after injuring his right knee in an accident at home on Wednesday evening.
#CSAnews De Kock ruled out of 3rd Test https://t.co/84f8IplUhm pic.twitter.com/V5ZqchcKRH
— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) January 14, 2016Dane Vilas was flying from Port Elizabeth on Thursday morning to replace De Kock but was not expected to arrive before play started.
Vilas was destined to arrive late for the first ball at 10:30 a.m. (0830 GMT) because Cricket South Africa could not book him on a flight earlier than 8 a.m. from Port Elizabeth, where he was due to play in a four-day provincial match.
Flights from the coastal city to Johannesburg take two hours and the usual heavy traffic from the airport to the stadium looks set to add more drama to the dash.
As reported by 'espncricinfo', Vilas reached the venue after eleven overs were bowled.
Look who has finally arrived at the Wanderers. Welcome @DaneVilas! #SAvENG pic.twitter.com/CkThHeNxgW
— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) January 14, 2016South Africa included a new cap, fast bowler Hardus Viljoen, 26, in a four-man pace attack with part-timer Dean Elgar the only spin bowler in the side.
England named an unchanged team, with opening batsman Alex Hales having recovered from a stomach bug.
De Kock slipped and sprained his right knee at home late yesterday afternoon. Initially he didn't think it was too serious but woke up after midnight in pain and with a swollen knee. He will have investigations done later Thursday to ascertain the extent of the injury.
Vilas was due to play in a domestic four-day match for the Cape Cobras against the Warriors in Port Elizabeth.
Vilas, who played in all four Tests for South Africa in India recently, made 216 not out for the Cobras against the Lions last weekend.
England lead the four-match series 1-0.
Teams:
South Africa: AB de Villiers (Captain), Dean Elgar, Stiaan van Zyl, Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis, Temba Bavuma, Dane Vilas (wicketkeeper), Morne Morkel, Kagiso Rabada, Chris Morris, Hardus Viljoen
England: Alastair Cook (Captain), Alex Hales, Nick Compton, Joe Root, James Taylor, Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow (wicketkeeper), Moeen Ali, Stuart Broad, Steven Finn, James Anderson