'South Africa close to finalising their World Cup 2019 squad' – Zondi

The Proteas have won three of the four ODI series they’ve played in 2018, including away victories in Sri Lanka and Australia, while having to deal with injuries and retirements to a number of key players.

With only ten more ODIs to play before they kick off the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 against England at The Oval, Zondi says there’s not much more to decide in terms of their World Cup squad structure.

“We had a lot of questions that we answered in the Australian series,” said Zondi. "It's a pity we had a couple of players who were injured with JP Duminy being the example. He played well in Sri Lanka and we would have loved to see him in the Australia series.

“We more or less know about the structure of our side‚ we just now need to finalise in the next two series and see if the guys are going to grab their opportunities.

"The guys must put up their hands and say this is my spot‚ I want to cement my spot and move on. I think we're more than 85% in terms of where we want to be in regards as a team and combinations.”

Zondi also confirmed experienced duo Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock will be the Proteas’ opening pair at next year’s World Cup.

“Before he got injured‚ Hashim was in good form and Quinton has also looked in reasonable form,” he added. "It's not like they were in bad form, but for players like them‚ it's a case of them being on the field playing and backing themselves.

"They're the best opening pair we have and we've tried everyone else. It's just been a case of testing the backup players, but I think we are clear with our opening pair. We just need to finalise the number three spots because the other batsmen have come along nicely. We don't have anything different when it comes to our opening options.”

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