CAPE TOWN — Injured Pakistan seamer Junaid Khan has been ruled out of the second cricket Test against South Africa at Newlands starting Thursday. Coach Dav Whatmore said the tourists were weighing up a replacement for the 24-year-old, who has failed to recover from a thigh injury sustained before Pakistan's practice match against the Emerging Cape Cobras. “Junaid is definitely out of the second Test, but we hope to have him fit again for Centurion,” Whatmore told a news conference. The third Test at Centurion starts Feb. 22. Seamer Mohammad Irfan or left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman are the front-runners to replace Khan in the line-up, with Whatmore saying the decision would be made once they had assessed the wicket Thursday. The coach also hinted that both might get to play, with the place of first-Test debutant Rahat Ali under threat after he proved ineffective against the South African batsmen in the first Test at the Wanderers, which the home team won. If Irfan does feature, he would be making his Test debut at the age of 30. Whatmore said his 7-40 in the practice match had suggested he was in the right form. “Irfan had a good practice match, he did as much as he can to push for a game. If he does play in the second Test he would have earned it.” Pakistan may opt to add a third spinner in Rehman, especially after the success that Mohammed Hafeez had at the Wanderers in picking up 4-16 in the first innings. He bowled well in tandem with front-line spinner Saeed Ajmal. Whatmore confirmed that the batting line-up would remain the same from the first Test, with Nasir Jamshed able to train Tuesday after he missed the practice match with an ankle injury. Pakistan captain Misbahul Haq has identified combating the new ball as the top priority for his team following the first Test. South Africa, meanwhile, seems certain to retain the side that won in Johannesburg as it seek to clinch the three-match series on a ground where it has won 20 of 25 Tests since returning to international cricket in 1991. It has been unbeaten at the ground in its most recent nine Tests, seven of which have been won. South African captain Graeme Smith will captain his country for the 100th time after being feted for a century of captaincies in Johannesburg, with one of the matches having been for a World XI. The match is being billed as a tribute to Mark Boucher, South Africa's long-serving wicketkeeper, who was forced to retire after suffering an eye injury at the start of a tour of England last year. — Agencies
