South Africa batter Tony de Zorzi has been ruled out of the ongoing ODI series against England after suffering a hamstring injury in the opening match at Headingley, Leeds.
The left-hander sustained the injury while fielding on the boundary as he dived to prevent a Jos Buttler shot from reaching the rope. Although he successfully saved the boundary, he hurt his left hamstring in the process. De Zorzi immediately left the field for treatment and it was confirmed he would not return, with a possibility of batting only if required. However, South Africa did not need him as they were chasing just 132 runs.
De Zorzi will return home for scans to assess the extent of the injury. South Africa have not named a replacement batter since he was covering for Matthew Breetzke, who missed the first ODI due to a hamstring issue of his own. Breetzke has now recovered and is expected to reclaim his place in the second match on Thursday, likely at the No. 4 position.
Meanwhile, concerns remain over the fitness of pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada, who has been out with ankle inflammation. He missed the ODI series in Australia and did not feature in the first ODI against England. The inclusion of Codi Yusuf, who plays county cricket with Durham, indicates that Rabada may not return until the T20I series.
Captain Temba Bavuma’s workload is also being closely managed following a hamstring injury during the World Test Championship final in June. Bavuma played two of the three ODIs in Australia and featured in the series opener against England but is expected to be rested for one of the remaining matches.
South Africa currently lead the three-match series 1-0.