Duanne Olivier Ruled Out Of England Test Series

Duanne Olivier is ruled out of the Test series against England and his absence from the series has affected the Proteas’ preparations for the opening Test against England on Thursday at Lord’s.

Olivier suffered a Grade 2 hip flexor muscle strain during the four-day tour match against the England Lions last weekend at The Spitfire Ground St Lawrence in Canterbury.

The Proteas’ chances have suffered as a result of Olivier’s withdrawal, as they would have counted on the seam bowler’s expertise in English conditions.

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Olivier had been playing as a Kolpak player for English County Championship team Yorkshire since 2019 before returning to the Proteas set-up last season.

“Duanne presented with significant discomfort involving his right hip flexor muscle at the close of play on day three of the four-day tour match. After clinical assessment, he was referred for an MRI scan which revealed a grade 2 tear involving the right pectineus muscle,” said Proteas team doctor, Hashendra Ramjee.

“Due to the extent of the injury, he has been ruled out of the three-match Test series against England and will return home where he will commence his rehabilitation with the Gauteng Central Lions medical team.”

In their warm-up match, the Proteas were defeated by the England Lions by an innings.

“If we look at the game as a whole, (Friday) didn’t go according to plan and (Thursday) was also tough. We got a lot of positives out of the first two days. Obviously, you want to come out on the right side of the result of any game you play. But we’ll take the positives from this and go forward,” said Kyle Verreynne.

England have not lost a single Test this summer.

Proteas Test squad against England: Dean Elgar (captain), Sarel Erwee, Marco Jansen, Simon Harmer, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Keegan Petersen, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Lutho Sipamla, Rassie van der Dussen, Kyle Verreynne, Khaya Zondo, Glenton Stuurman.

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