Amla and Steyn axed, Langeveldt unfit

South Africa's selectors have dropped Dale Steyn and Hashim Amla, while Charl Langeveldt was ruled unfit and released from the squad for the fifth and final Test against England at Centurion which starts on Friday.

Andre Nel, who was on standby, will now cover for Langeveldt, who broke his left hand at Cape Town and, despite an improvement, could not grip the bat comfortably.

South Africa's selectors resisted pressure to make more wholesale changes despite the side being slammed by the media in the aftermath of the defeat at Johannesburg. Two players under the spotlight, Jacques Rudolph and Boeta Dippenaar, have both been retained and will play.

"We want to back the players. But there has to be a realisation that Test cricket is played over five days," explained Haroon Lorgat , the selection convenor. "You've got to play and win each session. Too often in this series we have switched off. Look at the Durban match, we played well for two days and then we were hanging on to avoid defeat. We can't have that."

Amla, who has scored plenty of runs at domestic level, failed to impress in two Tests, making 36 runs in four imnings, with serious questions being raised about his technique. Steyn showed signs of promise but lacked control and his eight wickets cost 52 each. Both, however, are likely to feature again in the Test side before too long.

South Africa Graeme Smith (capt), Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Rudolph, Jacques Kallis, Boeta Dippenaar, AB de Villiers, Mark Boucher (wk), Nicky Boje, Shaun Pollock, Makhaya Ntini, Andre Nel.