In a bizarre turn of events, South Africa’s fielding coach Wandile Gwavu found himself on the field of play during their match against New Zealand in the Pakistan ODI Tri-Series in Lahore on Monday, February 10.

The Proteas had used up all their substitutes while fielding in the game, and were in need of another. Strangely, they had named just two players as substitutes at the start of the game, as reported by Cricbuzz.

South Africa, led by Temba Bavuma, are fielding a relatively fresh side in the match, with most of their regular players participating in the SA20. They had named six uncapped players in their 12-man squad for the game against New Zealand.

Keshav Maharaj and Heinrich Klaasen, two of their stalwarts in white-ball cricket, are expected to join up with the squad ahead of their next game, which is against Pakistan on Wednesday, February 12.

South Africa struggling to defend 304 against New Zealand in the 2nd ODI

South Africa are struggling to defend their total of 3014 against New Zealand in the ongoing second ODI. Having batted first, the Proteas ran up a decent total of 304-6 in their quota of 50 overs, largely thanks to Matthew Breetzke’s 150.

In reply, New Zealand were 264-4 in 41 overs at the time of writing, needing just 41 runs to win the game. Star batter Kane Williamson was unbeaten on 112 while opener Devon Conway had departed for a well-made 97.

Though the Proteas are playing a second-string side, the selectors have named a full-strength squad for the upcoming 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, which will be played in Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates from February 19. South Africa play their first game, against Afghanistan on February 21 in Karachi.