David Miller, fresh off his second century in three ODI innings, will not be available for the rest of the series against Sri Lanka because of a finger injury. Miller sustained a cut to the little finger of his right hand during the second ODI in Durban when he could not quite get underneath a diving catch in the eighth over of the Sri Lanka innings. He did not field for the remainder of the match and will require stitches which means seven to 10 days of recovery time.
He remains in contention for the limited-overs series against New Zealand, which starts with a T20I on February 17.
Miller made 117 off 98 balls at Kingsmead, adding 117 for the fifth wicket with Faf du Plessis, to help turn an uncertain South Africa innings into a total of 307 for 6 which set up a 121-run victory. South Africa, who are 2-0 up in the five-match series, have not named a replacement for Miller in their squad which is already without paceman Lungi Ngidi. Farhaan Behardien is the only reserve batsman and most likely to be given an opportunity after he made his international captaincy debut in the T20 series.
Dwaine Pretorius, a bowling allrounder, is also at South Africa’s disposal and if he is used it could see Wayne Parnell pushed a place higher in the order. Parnell has been used to open the batting at T20 level and has a recent first-class hundred to his name. He has been keen for opportunities with the bat at international level.
The third ODI, which South Africa will play in pink to raise awareness for breast cancer, will be played on Saturday at the Wanderers. – MD
