Proteas hand quartet deals

Duminy, Harris, Botha and Morkel rewarded for good form

By Joe Drabble   Last updated: 2nd February 2008

Shaun Pollock South Africa v West Indies Twenty20 international Jan 08

Pollock: International retirement

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South Africa have handed central contracts to four newcomers in their submitted list for next season.

JP Duminy, Paul Harris, Johan Botha and Morne Morkel have all been rewarded for their recent form, and are expected to play a key role in the Proteas upcoming fixtures.

The quartet take the places of Shaun Pollock, Boeta Dippenaar and Andrew Hall, who have all announced their retirement from international cricket, with all-rounder Justin Kemp the other to miss out.

Huge blow

Cricket South Africa chief executive Gerald Majola admitted a squad without Pollock is a huge blow for the nation.

"The Proteas contracted players' list without the name Shaun Pollock on it is something of a shock to all of us and it certainly marks the end of a remarkable career," he said.

"As they said of Adam Gilchrist, Polly in your team meant that you had 12 players on the field and South African cricket will miss him enormously.

"We have also lost two other players to international cricket retirement in Boeta Dippenaar and Andrew Hall, and Justin Kemp is no longer contracted to the Proteas.

"It is encouraging that we now have two spinners on board, and this has given us that added variety that we lacked in the recent past.

Newcomers

Harris made his Proteas debut in the Test series against India in the 2006/07 season and has been a regular member of the squad ever since.

Duminy has been a star performer during the Standard Bank ODI's against West Indies, a series that Botha has also been involved in.

Morkel made his Test debut against India and then confirmed his quality with an excellent ODI series in the Africa-Asia series.

The contracted squad is: Hashim Amla (Nashua Dolphins), Johan Botha (Chevrolet Warriors), Mark Boucher (Nashua Cape Cobras), AB de Villiers (Nashua Titans), JP Duminy (Nashua Cape Cobras), Herschelle Gibbs (Nashua Cape Cobras), Paul Harris (Nashua Titans), Jacques Kallis (Nashua Cape Cobras), Charl Langeveldt (Nashua Cape Cobras), Morne Morkel (Nashua Titans), Andre Nel (Nashua Titans), Makhaya Ntini (Chevrolet Warriors), Ashwell Prince (Nashua Cape Cobras), Graeme Smith (Nashua Cape Cobras), Dale Steyn (Nashua Titans).