AUS vs SA | Theunis de Bruyn set to miss Sydney Test for family reasons
South Africa’s middle-order batter Theunis de Bruyn is not going to play the third and final Test against Australia in Sydney, the board confirmed the news on Saturday. The 30-year-old, who replaced Rassie van der Dussen in the Boxing Day Test, is set to return home for the birth of his first child.
0-2 down in the three-match Test series against Australia, South Africa must need to make at least one change in their lineup for the final match in Sydney, beginning on January 4. The move has to make because Theunis de Bruyn is all set to return home for the birth of his first child.
“Batter Theunis de Bruyn will miss the third #AUSvSA Test in Sydney as he returns home for the birth of his first child,” Cricket South Africa confirmed the news in a statement. “We wish him everything of the best for this exciting part of his life.”
De Bruyn, who came in place of Rassie van der Dussen in the second Test at the MCG, scored 12 and 28 after coming in to bat No. 3 in a contest where South Africa endured an innings-and-182-run defeat. In all, he has played 13 Test matches so far, and has tallied 468 runs at an average of a paltry 19.50.
This time, South Africa have staged a disappointing performance overall in Australia, where they usually had enjoyed a lot of success in the past. Their batters, led by Dean Elgar, failed to live up to the expectations, which cost heavily to keep their hope alive of getting a place for the World Test Championship (WTC) final. They must pull one back in Sydney to remain in the hunt, alongside Australia and India.
SQUAD UPDATE 🚨
— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) December 31, 2022
Batter Theunis de Bruyn will miss the third #AUSvSA Test in Sydney as he returns home for the birth of his first child 🙏
We wish him everything of the best for this exciting part of his life 🍼#BePartOfIt pic.twitter.com/dzI6eckL65