Peterson content to wait his turn
Proteas lef-tarm spinner Robin Peterson is content to stand in line and wait his turn as South Africa's seamers obliterate opposition batsmen.
Peterson knows being a spinner in the South African team means not having to bowl much in first innings' of test matches, but it's something he had made peace with and is ready to perform a role when the opportunity presents itself.
Peterson is hoping that chance comes in the second test against New Zealand starting at St George's Park on Friday.
"There will be cases like that. That's the nature of playing for South Africa, it will mostly be seam friendly," said the 33-year-old.
"But in saying that, I'm prepared to bowl every innings and every game and in doing that I've given myself every chance to perform. I'm not taking anything for granted. People do have their bad days -- even a world class attack like we do have at the moment."
The attacking all-rounder will "complete the circle" when he plays his first test in the city where he was born. He first represented Eastern Province and then the Warriors before moving to Cape Town.
"It feels great to be able to play two tests in two weeks at my adopted home Newlands and where it started, where it all began for me at St George's. I've really gone a full circle now. I'm really just excited to be part of the group," said Peterson.
"It's always nice for the players to come here. It's a great atmosphere. It's been a while and we've watched a lot of test matches being played here over the years and now I'm finally part of it and hopefully I can put up a performance that I can be proud of."
Peterson said South Africa were wary of a Black Caps backlash at St George's after the Proteas' innings and 27 runs demolition at Newlands in the New Year's test match.
"It's not going to be easy," said Peterson. "I think New Zealand in the second half of the first test put up a bit of a fight and that's the nature of the Kiwis. For what they might have lacked in the player pool, they make up in the determination and a bit of guts out on the park. These conditions at St George's probably dictate that the game will go the distance instead of what happened at Newlands."
South Africa were dealt a blow on Tuesday when Vernon Philander was ruled out of the second test after his man-of-the-match performance at Newlands.
Philander experienced tightness on the final day of the match at Newlands, when foot holes caused his front foot to slip while bowling.
"Vernon's hamstring strain will require a seven to 10 day recovery period at the very least. Although he is responding to treatment received over the past few days, we feel it's unlikely that he'll recover in time for this week's test match in Port Elizabeth," Proteas team manager Dr Mohammed Moosajee said. "Besides, with the Pakistan series less than a month away, it's not worth the risk of aggravating the injury "
Rory Kleinveldt has been recalled and will earn his third test cap for the Proteas while Ryan McLaren has been added to the squad as cover.
