South Africa have won the toss and elected to bat in the first Test against New Zealand in Dunedin.
The conditions in Dunedin are clear but cool. Rain is expected this weekend, and the threat of the weather may influence the tactics of both teams on days one, two, and three as a result.
Faf du Plessis admitted as much after winning the toss on Wednesday morning. The Proteas skipper expects the pitch to be slow, and is happy to make first use of it in this clash.
New Zealand have opted for two spinners in Jeetan Patel and Mitchell Santner. The big surprise is that fast bowler Tim Southee has been left out of the Black Caps XI.
ALSO READ: 1st Test preview: NZ vs SA
As reported earlier in the week, Morné Morkel will make his long-awaited return to Test cricket in this fixture. Morkel will spearhead a Proteas attack that includes Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada, and spinner Keshav Maharaj.
New Zealand: 1 Tom Latham, 2 Jeet Raval, 3 Kane Williamson (c), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Henry Nicholls, 6 James Neesham, 7 BJ Watling, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Neil Wagner, 10 Jeetan Patel, 11 Trent Boult
South Africa: 1 Dean Elgar, 2 Stephen Cook, 3 Hashim Amla, 4 JP Duminy, 5 Faf du Plessis (c), 6 Temba Bavuma, 7 Quinton de Kock, 8 Vernon Philander, 9 Keshav Maharaj, 10 Kagiso Rabada, 11 Morne Morkel
