Lutho Sipamla, the fast bowler from South Africa, has been sidelined from the current T20I tri-series featuring South Africa, Namibia, and Zimbabwe due to a left hamstring injury, as reported by Cricinfo.
He managed to bowl only nine balls in the opening match against Namibia before having to leave the field. Consequently, he also missed the subsequent match against Zimbabwe.
Andile Simelane will step in to replace Sipamla in the squad. This marks the second injury setback for South Africa in the tri-series, following batter Jason Smith’s exclusion. The team’s injury list is growing, as pacer Kagiso Rabada has also been ruled out of the upcoming ODI series against Australia due to a right hamstring issue. Rabada is now under pressure to recover in time for the three-Test series against Australia, which starts on October 9. The ODI series is scheduled to begin on September 24 in Durban, with the final match set for September 30 in Potchefstroom. After the tri-series, South Africa will host Australia for ODIs and Tests, followed by matches against Bangladesh and England.
South Africa Secures Victory Against Zimbabwe
In the ongoing tri-series in Namibia, South Africa rebounded from their initial loss to Namibia with a convincing seven-wicket victory over Zimbabwe in Windhoek on Saturday. Zimbabwe managed to score 144 runs for the loss of 8 wickets, thanks to a solid start from Brian Bennett (34) and Ben Curran (24). However, South Africa’s bowlers orchestrated a middle-order collapse, with Duan Jansen taking 3 wickets for 45 runs and Prenelan Subrayen claiming 2 wickets for 27 runs. A quickfire 30 runs off 13 balls from Tadiwanashe Marumani helped Zimbabwe reach a respectable total.
In response, South Africa successfully chased down the target in just 13.4 overs, led by Dewald Brevis, who scored an impressive 75 runs off 32 balls, including seven fours and six sixes. This performance followed his unbeaten 75 against Namibia, earning him the Player of the Match award.