Neil Brand to Lead South Africa A Against Sri Lanka A

Discarded Test captain Neil Brand, who led a second-string South African side in New Zealand in February, has been appointed to lead the South Africa A team against Sri Lanka A next month. Brand will oversee a home series that includes two four-day matches, aimed at preparing players on the fringe of the national side. The red-ball matches will be preceded by three one-day games, with Test wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne leading the white-ball squad.

South Africa's fifty-over squad features players like David Bedingham, who scored a Test century in New Zealand under Brand, Tony de Zorzi, who made his ODI debut last year, and Tristan Luus, who played in the Under-19 World Cup. The four-day squad also includes Matthew Breetzke from the current Test tour to the West Indies, and Dewald Brevis, a breakout star from the 2022 Under-19 World Cup, is part of both squads.

Notably, the number of black African players in the squads exceeds the national target of two players per XI, with six black African players in the one-day squad and four in the Test squad. Allrounder Mihlali Mpongwana, currently captaining a South African Emerging squad in Zimbabwe, is included in both squads, along with Lutho Sipamla, a bowler who has been capped 17 times across all formats internationally but has struggled with recent injuries. In the four-day squad, batters Tshepang Dithole and Sinethemba Qeshile are included, while in the one-day squad, batters Andile Mokgakane and Andile Simelane are joined by allrounder Andile Phehlukwayo.

This selection highlights Cricket South Africa's focus on developing more black African batting talent as they prepare for the home ODI World Cup in 2027. There were no black African batters in the recent T20 World Cup, and only Temba Bavuma plays regularly in ODIs. CSA's recent Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion conference highlighted ensuring there is enough black African talent at the provincial level for national coaches to select, following a call from white-ball coach Rob Walter to "up the ante" in advancing transformation.

The series will run from August 31 to September 18. Walter and Test coach Shukri Conrad selected the two squads, with Conrad overseeing the entire tour while Walter is involved with the national team on trips to the West Indies and the UAE. All three one-day games will be played in Potchefstroom, and the four-day matches will be held in Kimberley and Benoni.